The Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) was initiated by GIC in 1987 with the objective of eliciting support for the conservation of the wild okapi from zoological institutions managing okapi in zoos around the world.  Okapi ambassadors in zoos help instill awareness of the rapid destruction of rainforests and generate financial support for the preservation of okapi habitat in the Ituri Forest of the Congo River basin.  The OCP has significantly contributed to the establishment and security of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, one of the most biologically diverse areas in all of Africa.

The objective to develop an economic and educational base on which a functioning okapi reserve can operate is supported by the OCP program areas of agroforestry, conservation education, bushmeat alternatives, and community assistance, coupled with direct support for the Institute in Congo for the Conservation of Nature to protect the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. As we complete our 20th year, the Okapi Conservation Project has much to celebrate.

About the Okapi

The okapi or “forest giraffe” was first described by scientists in 1901.  Sir Harry Johnston’s watercolor rendition of the elusive animal, which was done before he ever saw one, proved to be quite accurate.  Even today, the okapi largely remains a mystery to the outside world.

Inhabiting the Ituri Forest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the okapiis one of many endemic vertebrate species, including the bonobo and the Congo peafowl, found nowhere else in the world.  For all of its mystery, the okapi has become an ambassador for all the species which share the Ituri Forest.

About the size of a horse, the okapi stands over six feet at the head and five feet at the shoulder. Adult okapi weigh between five and seven hundred (500-700) pounds and may live to thirty (30) years of age in captivity.

The okapi’s tongue measures from fourteen to eighteen (14-18) inches long.  They use their tongue to wrap around leaves and branches on which they feed, as well as to groom themselves and their calves. The distinguishing brown and white markings on the okapi’s rump and legs help to camouflage it in the forest.  The stripes look like streaks of sunlight filtering through the trees.

Okapi calves are born with the same color patterns as the adults.  To avoid leopards they will stay in one place on a “nest” for the first six to nine (6-9) weeks of their life; much longer than calves of other species are known to do.

Okapi Wildlife Reserve

The Okapi Wildlife Reserve, established in 1992, helps protect the habitat of the okapi and many other species, as well as local people, the Mbuti pygmies. The Reserve encompasses 13,700 square kilometers (1.5 times the area of Yellowstone National Park) of the Ituri Forest in the northeastern portion of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the very heart of Africa . Listed as a World Heritage Site in 1996, the Reserve represents a global effort to preserve rare plant and animal life and a significant human culture.

The established preserve protects the Ituri lowland rainforest of the Congo River basin.  It harbors a healthy population of about 5,000 okapi, 4,000 elephants, 2,000 leopards, 13 primate species including chimpanzees, three species of crocodile, and many other rainforest species such as forest buffalo, antelope, water chevrotain, and a wide variety of birds and insects. It is considered as one of the most important sites for bird conservation in mainland Africa.