The okapi is an African animal that once believed to be the mythical unicorn, due to its elusive nature. But now the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) has reported that they have captured the African creature in the wild, on film, for the first time.
The ZSL and the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) set camera traps to get a glimpse of the okapi in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The photographs have dispelled worries that the species had become extinct as a casualty of the civil war.
The photographs also revealed previously unknown okapi population on the east side of the river. The creatures were last spotted in the Virunga National Park nearly 50 years ago on the west bank of the Semliki River.
Dr Noelle Kumpel, ZSL's Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Programme Manager, said: "To have captured the first-ever photographs of such a charismatic creature is amazing, and particularly special for ZSL given that the species was originally described here over a century ago.
"Okapi are very shy and rare animals, which is why conventional surveys only tend to record droppings and other signs of their presence."
Thierry Lusenge, a member of ZSL's Democratic Republic of Congo survey team, said: "The photographs clearly show the stripes on their rear, which act like unique fingerprints.
"We have already identified three individuals, and further survey work will enable us to estimate population numbers and distribution in and around the park, which is a critical first step in targeting conservation efforts."
The okapi have a black, giraffe-like tongue and zebra-like stripes on their behind. ZSL warns that okapi, including the newly found population are under threat of poachers. Okapi meat, which is likely from one of the Virunga Park populations, is on sale in a nearby town. ZSL warned that if hunting continues at the current rate, okapi could become extinct in the park within a few years.
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