Okapi (Okapia johnstoni) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology

• Active during the day and at night; previously thought to be nocturnal
• Feeding peaks at mid-morn and late afternoon.
• 30-50% of the day spent resting
• Some movement during first few hours of darkness (most nocturnal movement on moon-lit nights).
• Breeding females have the most stable home ranges, averaging 3-5.5 km.
• Adult males with undefined, wide-ranging home ranges move more often and greater distances (averaging 8-12 km)

Females

• 3-5 km (1.9-3.1 mi)
• Move up to 2.5 km (1.6 mi) in a day
• Most stable
• Shared mainly with other females and young

Male

• Largest home range: > 10 km (> 6.2 mi)
• 24-hr movement up to 4 km (> 2.5 mi)

Subadults

• 2-3 km (1.2-1.9 mi)
• More restricted movement
• Tendency to shift

• Remain solitary much of the time.
• 10% of total time is spent with other animals.
• Social grooming common in managed care.
• 2 adults, 1 juvenile, and 1 young may inhabit the same home range.
  • Groups of more than 3 have never been recorded other than in managed care.
  • Calves remain within mother's home range during first 2-6 months after birth.
• Okapi generally avoid individuals in adjacent home ranges
• Males and females spend very little time together

Displays  

• Dominance displays for both okapi and giraffe involve nose pointing away from the body's midline, which increases the visual impact of neck length. (Simmons and Scheepers 1996)

Vocalizations (Bodmer & Rabb 1992)

• Few;  but vocalize more than giraffe.
• Consists of three types of vocal signals: the chuff, moan, and bleat.
• Chuffs are contact calls for all ages and both sexes.
• Infants use bleat vocalization for response from mother.
• Bleats emitted only by young animals < 7 months in stressful situations.
• Soft moaning sound by males during courtship.
• Whistles and bellows in acute distress situations.
• Vocalizations have infrasonic frequency components.

Olfactory signals

• Secretes from glands of feet, leaving scent on low-lying herbage.
• Territory marked by urine or dung.
• Prior to mating, males and females sample urine to test for hormones (flehmen).

• Generally tranquil and non-aggressive
• Males competing for females engage in ritualized neck fighting, head butting, and charging. (Prothero 2002)
• Aggressive behaviors include kicking, head-throwing, and slaps using the side or top of head as a blow to flank or rump.
• Kicking is often symbolic without contact.
• Dominant animals have an erect head and neck posture while subordinates may have head and neck on the ground.

• Males in managed care shown to mark objects (bushes, trees) with urine, while crossing legs in a dance-like movement.
  • Marking occurs most often during courtship.
• Females mark using common defecation sites.
• Mark territory by rubbing necks on trees

Play

• Includes gambols and capers, the pooky (head low and forward, rapid tail wags) and lie and rise (lie on ground, may roll on side, then stand up) (Bodmer & Rabb 1985)
• Both sexes and all age classes engage in play behavior.
• Infants play more frequently than adults.

(Lindsey et al 1999) (Dagg 1960)

• Pacing gait at about 16 kilometers/hour (10 mph) - foreleg and hindleg move forward together, followed by legs on other side
• Gallop gait attains speeds of about 56.3 kph (35 mph) with same left side-right side pattern.
• Like the giraffe, must splay the legs to reach the ground when drinking

(Spinage 1968) (Bodmer & Rabb 1992)

• Leopards represent significant cause of death for adult okapi.
• Serval cat and golden cats prey on young okapi.
• African rainforest natives use okapi skins for decorative belts.

Male okapis stretch their necks as a way of competing for dominance. This behavior is most common during breeding.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Bodmer & Gubista (1988)
Dagg (1960)
Hart (1992)
Hart & Hart (1988)
Lindsey et al. (1999)