Okapis are endemic to the tropical rainforests of northeastern Zaire and are generally limited to altitudes between 450 and 1,000 meters.
Okapis are endemic to tropical forests of northeastern Zaire and are generally limited to altitudes between 450 and 1,000 meters. However, they have been reported at altitudes above 1,000 meters in the eastern montane rainforests, with one sighting at 1,450 meters on Mount Hoyo in the upper Ituri. They do not occur lower than 500 meters or in the swamp forests of western Zaire.
In general, the geographical range is limited in the east by high montane forests, in the west by swamp forests, in the north by savanna of the Sahel/Soudan, and in the south by open woodland. The specific distribution ranges through the Ubangui, Uele, Aruwimi, and Ituri rainforests; from Libangi on the Ubangui River in the west to near Lakes Kivu and Edward in the east, north to Faradje, and south to the Sankuru and Maniema districts.
They are most common in the Wamba and Epulu areas.
Sources: (Bodmer & Rabb, 1992; Mallon, et al., 2015; Palkovacs, 2000; San Diego Zoo Global, 2017)
Image: Romain Moisescot
