What is the Okapi?

The Okapi looks as if it is a cross between a zebra, a donkey and a giraffe. It is a very recognizable animal and is quite large, as big as a horse, and yet it was first discovered only about seventy years ago. It is very shy and retiring, living in the densest tropical forests of the Zaire basin. The Okapi is the only living relative of the Giraffe. It has a giraffe-like supple neck and a long tongue for plucking the leaves from trees.