Above: A nightshot showing the first image of a rare okapi to be photographed in the wild in Congo's Virunga Forest taken August 6, 2008, as released by the Zoological Society of London to Reuters on September 11, 2008.
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Congo's endangered okapi, so shy it has not been seen in its natural habitat for 50 years by conservationists, has been photographed in the wild for the first time, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said on Thursday.
The okapi, which has stripes like a zebra and a black tongue like a giraffe, lives exclusively in the eastern forests of Democratic Republic of Congo, an area gripped by a decade-old armed conflict and plagued by rampant poaching.
A two-week old Okapi stands beside its mother at an enclosure in Berlin zoo October 5, 2007.
REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
The first image of a rare okapi to be photographed in the wild in Congo's Virunga Forest August 10, 2008, as released by the Zoological Society of London to Reuters on September 11, 2008.
"To have captured the first ever photographs (in the wild) of such a charismatic creature is amazing, and particularly special for ZSL given that the species was originally described here over a century ago," Dr. Noelle Kumpel, ZSL's Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Program Manager, said in a statement.
Two years ago, rangers in Congo's Virunga National Park began discovering tracks and droppings believed to be those of the okapi. The exact population status of the elusive species is unknown, largely because access to its natural habitat is limited by poor infrastructure and the presence of armed groups.
"They were discovered in 1908, but there was no evidence of them after 1958," Emmanuel de Merode, head of the Virunga Park where the photos were taken, told Reuters.
"For us it's quite a big deal," he added.
The photos were taken by remote camera traps set by ZSL and Congo's Institute for Nature Conservation as part of a new study of the okapi, Thierry Lusenge, a member of the survey team said.
"We have already identified three individuals, and further survey work will enable us to estimate population numbers and distribution in and around the Park, which is a critical first step in targeting conservation efforts," he said.
The Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest nature reserve and one of only three protected areas believed to be inhabited by okapis, is also home to endangered mountain gorillas and rare savannah elephants.
But a destructive 1998-2003 war in Congo, heavy poaching, corruption and mismanagement of the reserve have taken a heavy toll on the park's wildlife. Campaigners also fear a local market exists for okapi meat.
Two weeks ago, heavy fighting broke out in the Virunga Park between rebels and the Congolese army, forcing park rangers and their families to flee.
Source: Reuters
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