The okapi, the giraffe's only living relative, is a secretive forest ungulate with specific welfare requirements around diet, social housing, and environmental complexity in zoo settings.
Okapi welfare in zoos is shaped primarily by their secretive nature and sensitivity to disturbance. As solitary forest animals, okapis are easily stressed by excessive visitor proximity, noise, and social conspecific pressure. Zoo enclosures must provide visual retreat — dense vegetation, solid barriers, and areas completely screened from visitor view — to allow the animal to self-regulate exposure. A diverse browse diet, including appropriate tree and shrub species, is essential to meet their highly specific nutritional and behavioural needs. Pair or group housing must be carefully managed given their naturally solitary disposition. Okapis show subtle stress indicators including restlessness, altered feeding, and increased vigilance; experienced keepers capable of reading these signals are essential. Their rarity in captivity means each individual's welfare and reproductive success is significant for the global conservation programme.