Okapi populations have been slashed in half in the last two decades
One of the world’s most elusive animals is being hunted to extinction.
Communicating almost entirely through low-frequency infrasound imperceptible to the human ear, and cryptically camouflaged beneath the forest canopy thanks to their zebra-like stripes, okapis might appear to be safe from the immense pressures placed on so many creatures today.
But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Their numbers have halved in just two decades – they could soon be lost forever.
Please donate now to help train and equip brave community wardens dedicated to protecting the okapis’ last stronghold. With your support, we could help save okapis.
Why are okapis in danger of going extinct?
Habitat destruction is one of the main threats to okapis. Slash-and-burn agriculture and illegal gold mining are destroying their forest homes, while logging, farming and human settlements fragment the forest and make it increasingly hard for individual okapis to find each other.
Hunters also kill okapis for their meat and skin, with some considering this unique creature a prize meat. While leopards have traditionally been the okapis’ main predator in the wild, today humans pose a far greater threat than any wild animal ever could.
Okapi numbers have dropped dramatically in areas where local hunters use vicious cable snares to indiscriminately capture their prey. With snare after snare being set, okapis are moving closer to annihilation with every step.
The okapis’ range has declined dramatically. We need to put the protection in place to help safeguard their last remaining stronghold.
What is Fauna & Flora doing to protect okapis?
Fauna & Flora has been helping to train community rangers and provide them with essential equipment required to carry out their important work to keep okapis safe from threats such as hunting. Monthly bio-monitoring patrols take place, during which lethal snares are removed.
All our staff on the ground are Congolese, allowing us to work closely alongside local communities. This is crucial to carrying out conservation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that is recovering from years of civil conflict and that poses great challenges to conservationists.
But okapis are in immense danger – it’s simply not enough.
Through your donations, we could step up our operations in the country, training and equipping these community wardens so they can safely traverse the dense jungles of the DRC and carry out their crucial work to help save okapis.
What do rangers need?
It is imperative that our rangers receive the boots, rucksacks, hammocks, clothing and rations they need to carry out their patrols in such challenging terrain, which quickly degrades their equipment, rendering it useless.
Similarly, they need the tech devices to ensure their protection measures are as effective as possible. GPS kits in particular are crucial to navigating these remote regions and are an essential tool in effectively carrying out patrols.
Fauna & Flora has been helping to train community rangers to help keep okapis safe from threats such as hunting.
Credit: Ji / AdobeStock
£68
could pay for a hammock, rucksack and camping gear for one warden - sparing them from another sleepless night in the forest.
Rangers in the rainforest of the Virungas, DRC. Credit © Juan Pablo Moreiras / Fauna & Flora International
£59
could help pay for refresher training for one ranger, keeping them safe in the field.
£30
could pay for a new pair of patrol boots, replacing those worn out by hour after hour of intensive patrolling through thick forest.
How could my donation help save okapis?
Through your donation, we could scale up our work in the DRC. Your support could help us provide dedicated community rangers with essential supplies and equipment they desperately need, so they can patrol forest borders, remove snares and ensure these endangered animals are protected in their last safe haven.
Your donations could also help to train local community members to become rangers, and help pay for important work carried out alongside local communities. This has already seen a real shift in attitude towards protecting okapis and their homes, and it is vital that these programmes continue to receive the support they need.
Why Fauna & Flora?
As the world’s oldest international wildlife conservation organisation, Fauna & Flora has over 120 years of experience protecting threatened wildlife and their habitats in Africa. We are no strangers to working in challenging parts of the world such as the DRC.
This wealth of knowledge and experience working alongside local governments and communities is essential if we are to save okapis from extinction. But that work would be impossible without your support.
Please donate now, and together we could save this one-of-a-kind creature.