okapi

[oh-kah-pee]

noun

plural

okapis ,

plural

okapi .

1. an African mammal, Okapia johnstoni, closely related to and resembling the giraffe, but smaller and with a much shorter neck.

okapi

/ əʊˈkɑːpɪ /

noun

1. a ruminant mammal, Okapia johnstoni, of the forests of central Africa, having a reddish-brown coat with horizontal white stripes on the legs and small horns: family Giraffidae

Word History and Origins

Origin of okapi¹

1900; < Bambuba (Mvu’ba), a Central Sudanic language of the NE Democratic Republic of the Congo (or < a related Pygmy dial.), according to English Africanist Harry Johnston (1858–1927), author of the first zoological descriptions of the animal

Word History and Origins

Origin of okapi¹

C20: from a Central African word

Example Sentences

The "incredibly special" birth of an okapi will help to reveal "one of the least known and understood species on the planet", a keeper has said.

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Rewind to 11.5 million years ago, when the common ancestors of the modern giraffe and its closest evolutionary cousin, the okapi, roamed what is now Africa.

Read more on Scientific American

Soon this resulting makeshift family is planning a benefit dance show for an animal Elias adores, the okapis, an endangered species related to the giraffe and endemic to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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“There was more than one wet eye that day,” said Michelle Gadd, who leads the White Oak preserve for endangered and threatened species such as cheetahs, rhinos, okapi, zebras and condors.

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On the other hand, the giraffe has lost at least 53 olfactory genes compared with the okapi.

Read more on Science Magazine