The okapi, an African animal so elusive that it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn, has been photographed in the wild for the first time, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) said Thursday.
Camera traps set by the ZSL and the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN) captured pictures of the okapi in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The pictures have dispelled fears that the species had died out in more than a decade of civil war.
Dr Noelle Kumpel, ZSL's Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Programme Manager, said: "To have captured the first-ever photographs of such a charismatic creature is amazing, and particularly special for ZSL given that the species was originally described here over a century ago.
"Okapi are very shy and rare animals, which is why conventional surveys only tend to record droppings and other signs of their presence."
The okapi, which have a black, giraffe-like tongue and zebra-like stripes on their behind, were last spotted in the Virunga National Park nearly 50 years ago on the west bank of the Semliki River.
The new ZSL survey revealed a previously unknown okapi population on the east side of the river.
Thierry Lusenge, a member of ZSL's Democratic Republic of Congo survey team, said: "The photographs clearly show the stripes on their rear, which act like unique fingerprints.
"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."
The exact status of the okapi is unknown as civil conflict and poor infrastructure makes access to the forests of DRC difficult.
But ZSL warned that even the newly-discovered okapi population was under threat from poachers.
Okapi meat, reportedly from the Virunga park, is now on sale in the nearby town of Beni and ZSL warned that if hunting continues at the current rate, okapi could become extinct in the park within a few years.
First photos of African 'unicorn' captured
Louise Gray, The Telegraph 11 Sep 08;
An African animal so rarely seen it was once believed to be a mythical unicorn has been caught on camera in the wild for the first time.
he okapi, a deer-like creature with the long blue tongue of a giraffe and the rear of a zebra, was only discovered at the beginning of the 20th century when a British explorer sent a skin home to London.
Before this the animal had only been glimpsed in passing with the characteristic small bump in the corner of its head leading to claims that it could have been the unicorn written about in fantasy story books.
Even in the modern age humans had until now only fleetingly seen the creature's huge ears and stripey hind legs in the jungles of Africa.
The forest-dwelling mammal was not seen in the wild for 50 years ago and there were fears it had died out in the wake of the civil war in the Democratic of Congo.
However, zoologists did not give up hope. In 2006 tracks were found in the Virunga National Park and camera traps were put down by the Zoological Society of London in the hope of capturing the wild animal on film.
Now, the last few wild okapis have been captured on film.
Because the zebra stripes on the animal's behind are unique like a fingerprint, researchers have been able to identify different animals and survey a previously unknown population.
Dr Noelle Kumpel, ZSL's Bushmeat and Forests Conservation Programme Manager, was relieved to see the species has survived despite a decade of civil conflict.
"To have captured the first ever photographs of such a charismatic creature is amazing," he said.
"Okapi are very shy and rare animals - which is why conventional surveys only tend to record droppings and other signs of their presence."Okapis are the closest living relative of the giraffe
The species were unknown to the western world until 1901 when the British governor of Uganda Sir Harry Johnston sent a complete skin and a skull belonging to the creature back to London.