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Okapis have dark bodies, with striking horizontal white stripes on the back legs. The body shape is similar to that of the giraffe, except that Okapis have much shorter necks. Both species have long, flexible, blue tongues that they use to strip leaves and buds from trees. It is about 1 foot long The Okapi's tongue is long enough for it to wash its eyelids and clean its ears; it is the only mammal that can lick its own ears. Male okapis have short, skin-covered horns.

Okapis are 7 to 8 ft (2 to 2.5 m) long, and 5 to 6 ft (1.5 to 2 m) high at the shoulder. Their weight ranges from 465 to 550 lb (200 to 250 kg).

In addition to tree leaves and buds, Okapis eat grass, ferns, fruit, and fungiChytridiomycota Zygomycota Ascomycota Basidiomycota The Fungi (singular: fungus are a large group of organisms ranked as a kingdom within the Domain Eukaryota. Included are the conspicuous mushrooms, but also many microscopic forms such as molds and yeast.

Okapis are largely nocturnal and essentially solitary, coming together only to breed. Only one infant is born at a time, weighing around 35 lb (16 kg), after a gestation period of from 421 to 457 days. The young are nursed for up to ten months, and reach maturity at between four and five years of age.

Okapis are not classified as endangered, but they are threatened by habitat destruction and poachingFor the culinary term see poaching (cooking). Poaching is illegal hunting or fishing. It may be illegal because: The game or fish is out of season. The animal is on restricted land. The means used are illegal (for example, baiting a field while hunting qu. Conservation work in the Congo includes the continuing study of okapi behavior, and has led to the creation in 19921992 is a leap year starting on Wednesday. Events January January The Internet Society is formed. January 1 Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Perez de Cuellar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General January 1 George H. Bush becomes the fi of the Okapi Wildlife ReserveThe Okapi Wildlife Reserve is a World Heritage Site in the Ituri Forest in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the borders with Sudan and Uganda. At a size of approximately 34,000 km², it covers approximately one fifth of the area, which is roughly the size of ConnecticutConnecticut is a state of the United States, part of the New England region. Connecticut was one of the thirteen colonies that revolted against British rule in the American Revolution. USS Connecticut was named in honor of this state. History Main article. The Congalese civil warFor other uses, see Civil War (disambiguation A civil war is a war in which the competing parties are segments of the same country or empire. Civil war is usually a high intensity stage in an unresolved political struggle for national control of state pow threatened both the wildlife and the conservation workers in the Reserve.

The species name (johnstoni) refers to the explorer Sir Harry Johnston, who organized the expedition into the Ituri Forest that first acquired an Okapi specimen for science.