What is okapis favorite food?
The okapi only consumes leaves from woody plants. It will pass up leaves from non-woody and large leaved herbs along the forest floor (Hart, 2009). After the okapi has found a plant that it would like to eat from it will even be more selective on which leaves it will eat off that plant.
What does an okapi eat?
Habitat and diet Its plant-based diet consists of fruits, buds, leaves, twigs, and other vegetation. Just like the giraffe and cow, the okapi has four stomachs that aid with digesting tough plants. Also like its giraffe cousin, the okapi has a long, dark tongue that can strip leaves from branches.
What is the purpose of okapi tongue?
The okapi’s tongue measures between 14 and 18 inches long. They use it to wrap around leaves on which they feed, as well as to groom themselves and their calves. The tongue of an okapi is long enough for the animal to wash its eyelids!
What is the okapis main predator?
Leopards are the main predator of okapis. The stripes on okapis’ legs and rump help to break up the outline of their body and camouflage them in the shadows of the rainforest.
Do okapis have 4 stomachs?
Like their giraffe cousins, okapis are ruminants—animals with four chambered stomachs that allow the digestion of very tough plant matter.
Do okapis eat meat?
The Okapi is a herbivorous animal meaning that it survives on a diet that is only comprised of plant matter. They eat leaves, shoots and twigs that are drawn into their mouths using their long prehensile tongue along with fruits, berries and other plant parts.
Is an okapi a hybrid?
Okapis only look like they are a hybrid of giraffe and zebra, but they are actually their own species! They are related to the giraffe but have a shorter neck and shorter legs. The only place in the world where okapis are found is in the forests of Democratic Republic of Congo (Africa).
Why do okapi have scent glands on their feet?
Habits. Okapi are solitary and territorial. They have scent glands on their feet that spread sticky, tar-like territory markings to alert others of their region. Males also mark their territory with urine.
What animals have Ossicones?
Ossicones are columnar or conical skin-covered bone structures on the heads of giraffes, male okapi, and some of their extinct relatives.
How do okapis defend themselves?
Okapis have many defenses to keep them one step ahead of the leopard. Believe it or not, their distinguishing coat makes for excellent camouflage. The males have short horns on their head called ossicones, like their closest relative the giraffe, which they can use to fight off leopards.
What are all of the okapis predators?
The leopard is the okapi’s most fearsome predator. Other rainforest cats, including servals and golden cats, also prey on okapi. Humans also hunt okapi (today, illegally, as okapi are protected in the DRC).
How big is an okapi and what does it eat?
The okapi’s body is about 6.5 feet long, and the animal stands around 5.25 feet at the shoulder. It weighs between 460 and 550 pounds. Okapis live in forests of tall trees. They eat more than 100 species of plants. They munch on leaves, grass, fruit and fungi.
What kind of food does the Okapia johnstoni eat?
Part of the okapia johnstoni diet is mainly leaves, shoots, and twigs. Sometimes okapi choose to eat fungi. However, okapi do enjoy fruits and berries; probably because of their sweet or sour taste. The amazing thing is is most of the plants they eat, are poisonous to other animals including humans.
Why are okapis so hard to find in the wild?
The species’s preferred habitat played a big role in keeping it off the radar. Even today, scientists have a hard time locating or monitoring okapis because they live in dense, inhospitable forests. Since the striped herbivores are so difficult to observe in the wild, we know very little about their social habits.
How is the okapi similar to a giraffe?
Just like the giraffe and cow, the okapi has four stomachs that aid with digesting tough plants. Also like its giraffe cousin, the okapi has a long, dark tongue that can strip leaves from branches.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJv6AUPxS84