![Okapi](/sites/default/files/2017-07/animal-hero-tokapi_0.jpg)
Okapi
![giant panda](/sites/default/files/2017-12/animal-icon-mammals.png)
Mammals
![Map highlighting Central Africa](/sites/default/files/2017-06/maps-central-africa_1.png)
![](/sites/default/files/2017-04/endangered_graph_endangered.png)
Endangered
facts
![Okapi compared in size to a refrigerator](/sites/default/files/2017-07/card-fridge-size-okapi_0.png)
![Plant eater](/sites/default/files/2017-06/food-plants.png)
![Rainforest habitat leaves](/sites/default/files/2017-07/habitats-rainforest_0.png)
description
![Okapi mother and calf](/sites/default/files/2017-07/okapi-01.jpg)
Oh-what?
With its white-and-black striped hindquarters and front legs, an okapi (oh-KOP-ee) looks like it must be related to zebras. But it is actually the only living relative of the giraffe.
![Okapi looking backwards with striped rump in view](/sites/default/files/2017-07/okapi-02.jpg)
My hide hides me
Like giraffes, okapis have very large, upright ears, which catch even small sounds, helping them to avoid trouble. So why does the okapi have zebra-like stripes? These markings, which seem very bold to us, give the animal great camouflage when hiding in the partial sunlight that filters through the dense rainforest of the northeastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo where okapis make their home.
![Okapi calf sticking its tongue out after nursing](/sites/default/files/2017-07/okapi-03.jpg)
Smell you later!
Okapis mostly travel by themselves, but they still have ways of communicating with others of their kind. A scent gland on each foot leaves behind a sticky, tar-like substance wherever they have walked, marking their territory and leaving their personal "perfume" behind!