The okapi is the rainforest mammal known as the “forest giraffe” because it is the giraffe’s closest living relative.
Okapis live mainly in the dense Ituri Rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although their chocolate-brown bodies and striped hindquarters can resemble a zebra, their body structure, long dark tongue, and skull features place them in the giraffe family, Giraffidae.
The okapi’s striped legs help break up its outline in shadowy forest vegetation. Its tongue is flexible enough to strip leaves from branches and even clean its own eyelids and ears. Unlike giraffes, okapis are solitary and are adapted to undergrowth rather than open woodland.
The species was unknown to Western science until the early 20th century, although local peoples had long known it. A common mix-up is calling it a zebra relative: the stripes are superficial camouflage, not evidence of close kinship.