The okapi is a compactly built herbivore, standing six feet tall at the shoulder and weighing 440-to-600 pounds. The body is dark reddish-purple, with light facial markings, long legs and neck, large ears, tufted tail and white stripes on the legs and hindquarters. The bluish 14-inch prehensile tongue is used to reach food by grasping and striping branches. Only the male has horns, which are covered with skin, much like the giraffe, which is the okapi’s only living relative. Although the okapi was long hunted by natives, western scientists did not know about it until 1901.

The stripes on the hindquarters and legs help the animal blend into its jungle-like environment, especially the serrated patterns of some trees and ferns. Stripes also act as counter-shading, breaking up the okapi’s outline in the dappled light of the forest floor. The okapi travels alone, or with small family groups. Extremely wary and secretive, hearing is the most developed sense. Scent glands on the hooves, along with urine, are used in olfactory marking. Recent research indicates okapi also communicate with infants and with each other, using infrasound frequencies below 30 herts (average signal is 15 herts).

Gestation is 14-to-15 months, followed by the birth of a single 35-to-40 pound calf. The female is very protective, hiding her newborn in brush and returning regularly to suckle it. The calf suckles for six months and is fully independent by nine months.