What is one fact about the okapi?

What is one fact about the okapi?

Okapis are herbivores, feeding on the leaves, buds, and fruits of trees as well as ferns, grasses, and fungi. They can eat 40 to 65 pounds (18 to 29 kg) of food every day. Their tongues are so long, in fact, that okapis use them to wash their eyelids, clean out their ears, and even swat insects away from their neck.

How does an okapi sleep?

The okapi only sleeps 5 minutes per day! It has about ten slow wave sleep phases, but they are never longer than 30 seconds each. However, the okapi likes to snooze and spends up to six hours per night on its resting place.

How do okapis act?

Shy and elusive as it is serene and gentle, with remarkable natural defenses against predation (not least of which, its extraordinary markings), the okapi is nearly impossible to observe in the wild.

What are okapi babies called?

calves
Female okapis typically only give birth to one baby at a time. Birth comes after a gestation period of 14 to 16 months, and the young is born in a nest on the ground. Baby okapis are called calves.

How does an okapi Walk Like a giraffe?

An okapi’s walk also closely resembles that of a giraffe – both animals simultaneously step with the same front and hind leg on each side rather than moving alternate legs like other ungulates.

How does an okapi track its own territory?

They will walk around the same tracks daily searching for food. When okapis walk through an area they distribute a sticky substance from a scent gland on each leg. This marks their territory and allows other okapis to track them.

How does an okapi communicate with its calf?

Okapis make a range of low frequency sounds to communicate with their calf that predators cannot hear. These animals are most active during the day. They will walk around the same tracks daily searching for food.

What kind of life does an okapi have?

But with this said, it would appear that okapis lead a solitary existence. According to data collected from radio collars, adults spend most of their lives inside of a territory that might overlap with those of other individuals, but okapis seldom cross paths.