Okapi, a large, split-hooved mammal related to the giraffe. Okapis live in the forests of the upper basin of the Congo River in Africa, where they were discovered by Europeans in 1901. They stand up to five feet (1.5 m) tall at the shoulder, and have much shorter necks and legs than giraffes. The males have two blunt, five-inch (13-cm) horns covered with skin and hair, similar to those of giraffes. Males and females have large, broad ears. In size and structure, okapis resemble fossil predecessors of giraffes.
The coat of an okapi is purplish-brown on the back, black striped horizontally with white on the upper leg, and white on the lower leg. The okapi has a short tail ending in a tuft of black hair, and buff-colored markings on its head. Okapis are ruminants (cud chewers) and eat the leaves and twigs of forest trees. They live singly or in small family groups.
The okapi is Okapia johnstoni. It belongs to the giraffe family, Giraffidae.