Bryce VomBaur

Bio 1050
April 7, 2016
The Okapi: Ecology and Human Influence
The okapi (Okapia johnstonia) is an endangered, hoofed mammal that lives in a
variety of forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Nicknamed the unicorn of
Africa, the okapis closest relative is the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), although its
appearance only has a few similarities. It has a long neck with seven cervical vertebrae,
like the giraffe, as well as a giraffe-like head, knobby horns, large ears, skin-covered
hooves, bilobate canine teeth, and long tongue. However, the okapi is much smaller
only about five feet tall and 600 pounds. Additionally, it is coated with a dark reddishbrown fur almost everywhere except for its legs. The okapis legs possess a zebra-like
pattern with black and white stripes. Due to these unique patterns, the contrasting okapi
can camouflage in the shadowy foliage in order to hide from its only natural predator
the leopard. Also, their skin produces an oil that makes these distinct coats waterproof.
The okapi uses its prehensile tongue (that is also used for grooming) to feed off of
various species of plants by stripping leaves from the branches and bringing them to its
mouth. Since they are herbivores, they also feed on certain fungi and fruit. On average,
the okapi consumes 40 to 65 pounds of food daily. This more fibrous, less palatable
vegetation is found in the dense forests that the okapi dwells in. The okapi is unique
because it is the only hoofed mammal that dwells in its habitat, as other ungulates prefer
to feed on foliage that is more directly hit by light. Okapis are extremely difficult to find
because they are only found in these thick, tropical rainforests of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.
In fact, the okapi is so rare that it was not even discovered until the beginning of
the twentieth century. Explorers Henry Morton Stanley, Harry Johnston, and Herbert
Lang were credited with writing the first accounts of this fascinating animal. Stanley first
mentioned the animal when he was able to communicate with pygmies and learn of a
leaf-eating donkey that they sometimes were able to capture. Then in 1900, Harry
Johnston was able to obtain two skulls and a complete skin of an okapi, proving that the
rare creature was most closely related to the giraffe. Herbert Lang would later write
detailed descriptions of the okapi. In 1919, the first successfully exported okapi went to a
zoo in Belgium. The okapi became so well-respected as a representation of unique
wildlife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that it appeared on several of the
countrys banknotes.
In 1996, the okapis Red List assessment was lower risk/near threatened. By
2008, it was labeled near threatened. Finally, in 2013, the okapi was officially named
endangered. The species population took such a dramatic hit in such a short period of
time and is now at serious risk of extinction. Although it is naturally hunted by the
leopard, humans have proven to be the primary enemy of the okapi, as they have become
more invasive and threatening to the species.
One of the major ways in which humans are so invasive is destroying the okapis
habitat through deforestation and degradation. Deforestation refers to the complete
destruction of the forest habitat, as trees and other plants are totally stripped from the

land. Degradation, however, refers to the devaluation of the forest habitat, such as
extraction of nature inside the forest, fire, and building infrastructure. Central Africas
rainforest are the second most abundant in the world, behind the Amazon. This area of
forest covers a total of 1.7 million square kilometers. It is home to a massive variety of
plants and animals, some extremely rare like the okapi. In the Congo Basin, annual gross
deforestation doubled from 1990-2000 and 2000-2005. Additionally, annual gross
degradation doubled in the same time period. Although both the Amazon Basin and South
East Asia experience more deforestation and degradation, the Congo Basin is the only
forest that experience increasing rates of change. It turns out that there are a variety of
factors that lead to this deforestation and degradation, some more direct than others.
The first indirect cause is population growth in Central Africa, specifically the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. As population increases, so does density, and there is
a direct correlation between high population density and deforestation. Another reason is
due to the poor economic and political state of countries in the Congo Basin. This
instability in government can cause major events such as war, one of which taking place
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1996-2003. From this, deforestation and
degradation can occur due to institutions not being able to carry out their antideforestation actions and large migrations of people seeking safety from violence.
Although these two factors are not proven to have a direct impact on deforestation and
degradation, several things point to it being a possibility.
As far as factors that directly influence deforestation and degradation, agricultural
expansion is significant. Since population is increasing, it only makes sense that the need
for agricultural land would increase in order to feed everyone. The need for agricultural
land is present in Central Africa because of their lack of modern technology to produce
food more efficiently. The only way to make room for this land is to tear down the
existing forests that take it over. In addition to agricultural expansion, fuel wood
extraction impacts deforestation in these areas. In the Congo Basin, this wood is the main
source of energy, comprising 80 percent of the energy use in the countries that are
included in it. More specifically, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (where the okapi
most abundantly dwells) uses fuel wood for approximately 95 percent of the wood it
produces. Fuel wood is always going to be in demand and only more increasingly as
population increases. The only way the need for it will halt is if the less-developed
countries in the Congo Basin can find alternate energy sources. Although the Democratic
Republic of the Congos timber extraction is the least to worry about of all the Congo
Basin countries, it still proves to be a problem. Industrial production of logs in the area
can only be possible through the destruction of trees. Infrastructure development proves
to be another factor. Humans build roads, bridges, and other structures in order to gain
easier access to the forest. Road construction rates only increase as there are more people
and more means of transportation. The only way such structures can be built is through
clearing the way by deforestation and degradation. The final issue is the lack of protected
areas. Only 11 percent of the Congo Basin is protected area, and that number needs to
increase to 17 percent. Without these areas officially protected, the mass variety of
means, by which the Congo Basin (including the Democratic Republic of the Congo) is
affected through deforestation and degradation, will only continue and increase.
Not only do invasive humans threaten the okapi through habitat destruction, but
they also directly kill the species through poaching and hunting. The thick, velvety fur of

the okapi possesses a unique pattern and color in which hunters can use to sell. Not only
is the okapi killed for its coat, but also for its meat. The animal is sometimes hunted as
bush meat, or meat from non-domesticated mammals in tropical rainforests that is used
for food. Attaining bush meat is a common practice in remote areas where food is hard to
come by.
The okapi is without a doubt a unique species one of many that are found in the
diverse habitat that is the tropical rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
However, if nothing is done to stop their decreasing numbers, the human will ultimately
be responsible for their extinction.

Literature Cited
Stnatnon, D.G., Hart, J., Galbusera, P., Helsen, P., Sherphard, J., Jumpel, N.F., &
Bruford, M.W. (2014) Distinct and Diverse: Range-Wide Phylogeography Reveals
Ancient Lineages and High Genetic Variation in the Endangered Okapi (Okapia
johnstoni). Plos ONE, 9(7), 1-12
Okapi, (2015), Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition, 1
Hart, T.B., & Hart, J.A. (1992), Between sun and shadow, Natural History, 101(11), 28.
Celine, E., Philippe, M., Astrid, V., Catherine, B., Musampa, C., & Pierre, D. (2013),
National forest cover change in Congo Basin: deforestation, reforestation, degradation
and regeneration for the years 1990, 2000 and 2005. Global Change Biology, 19(4)