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What it is
The okapi (Okapia johnstoni) is the closest living relative of the giraffe, a forest animal with a velvety dark reddish brown coat, white and brown striped legs and a long dark tongue. Males have short horns covered in skin. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists it as Endangered.
Range
Dense rainforests of the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and nowhere else.
What happened
Scientists in Europe learned of the okapi only in the last century. It lives alone, browses on leaves in sunny gaps of the forest and is very hard to see in the wild.
When / status
Endangered now, and still falling in number.
Human role
Hunting for meat and skins, mining, logging and armed conflict in its forests threaten it.