Okapi--San Diego Zoo

Okapis often travel up to a half mile (0.8 kilometers) a day in search of food, usually along trails worn down by generations of okapis. They are generally solitary animals, unless an adult female has a calf with her.

Adult males, whose home ranges cover more area, can travel up to 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) a day. The males try to keep other males out of their territories but will allow females to travel through in search of food. Both males and females are most active during the afternoon through the evening.
While okapis travel for the most part by themselves within their home ranges, they still have ways of communicating with others whose ranges overlap. A scent gland on each foot leaves behind a sticky, tar-like substance wherever they have walked, marking their territory. By checking the ground, an okapi can tell if another okapi has been there. Males also mark their territory by urine spraying. Normally silent, female okapis vocalize only when they are ready to breed.

Okapi newborns can stand up within 30 minutes of birth and will nurse for the first time within an hour of birth. They have the same coloring as an adult but have a short fringe of hair along the spine, which generally disappears by the time they are 12 to 14 months old. In the wild, mothers hide their newborn calves in one spot, returning regularly to allow the calf to nurse.

Okapi calves defecate for the first time between four and eight weeks of age. This adaptation helps keep predators from sniffing out the hidden newborns until they have had a chance to grow and gain strength. Calves will triple their size by the end of their second month but will not reach full adult size until three years of age