I had no idea that the okapi — a species I’d seen at the zoo — had never been photographed in the wild — before now:
The photos were taken by cameras set up in the Virunga National Park by the zoological society and conservationists in Congo after okapi tracks were spotted there a few years ago.
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The okapi is only known to exist in Congo, primarily further north in Ituri provinces’s Okapi Wildlife Reserve. There, they are difficult to spot because they are shy and usually only move around in couples. Virunga officials say before the okapi was captured on camera, it was not known whether it still roamed the park.“We are encouraged by the evidence that okapis have survived in Virunga, despite the years of conflict,” Virunga National Park Director Emmanuel de Merode said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press. “Park rangers have only recently regained control of this area that was formerly occupied by armed militias. But while it is positive that the okapi population remains, we are aware of their vulnerability to intense levels of poaching.”
The photos also indicate the animals are more widely distributed in the park than was previously believed.
“We’ve managed to get pictures of three separate individuals, and we’ve also got a picture of one roaming around at nighttime and actually foraging, which is the first evidence of this behavior,” said Kumpel. Scientists previously believed okapi fed only during the day, she said.
Virunga, near the Rwanda and Uganda borders, is also home to some of the world’s last remaining mountain gorillas. Part of the reserve is still occupied by Congolese and Rwandan rebels, who have hidden in its dense forests for more than a decade and used parts of it as bases to launch attacks.
Kumpel said the one other known photograph of a wild okapi showed only a leg.
So, are all the okapis in captivity descended from specimens captured before photography?