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Description
Deep in the central African rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a small troop of dryas monkeys (Cercopithecus dryas) scampering across the branches of the trees have come across another elusive mammal found only in this part of the world. Walking on the forest floor below is an okapi (Okapia johnstoni), a large ungulate that is rarely seen in the wild. The hoofed mammal walks closer to the monkeys, but this docile creature poses them no threat and is a herbivore, and sticks out its long purple-black tongue to get some of the leaves off the treee to eat. A curious bird, a yellow-crested helmetshrike (Prionops alberti) , has also taken a small moment to observe the okapi and also hopes to catch any insects disturbed by its movement.

Something I drew for National Endangered Species Day (May 21) as well as for this Animal of the Month event (www.deviantart.com/moonymina/j… ). Also decided to try drawing it in a bit of an unconventional angle and do some perspective testing on the okapi.

An elusive and rare mammal found only in the jungles of the Congo basin, the okapi was only first known to the western world in the 20th century, though native people seem to have known about it much longer. The okapi is quite unlike any other extant animal, with mainly brown fur but stripes very similar to those on a zebra on its rear and legs, which has led early explorers to believe it was some unknown kind of forest zebra. In actuality, the okapi is a species of Giraffid, and the closest living relative of giraffes. Some similarities can be observed in the two animals, like the long neck (much longer in a giraffe though), horn-like ossicones on the head and the long, muscular purple tongue used to grab leaves. Unlike most other ungulates, the okapi is solitary and does not form herds for protection, but then again being 2.5 meters long, reaching 1.5 meters at the shoulder and weighing up to 350 kilograms, there's not much in its jungle habitat other than leopards and humans that can hunt it. Unfortunately the okapi is an endangered species threatened by habitat loss from the clearing of its rainforest home and illegal hunting for its skin and meat. It is fully protected by Congolese law and several reserves have been set up for this animal, but illegal armed groups in the Congan jungles makes protection more difficult.

Also called the Salonga monkey, ekele or inoko, the dryas monkey is a species of guenon monkey found only in the Congo and is extremely rare, possibly less than 200 individuals existing now. The dryas monkey is a colorful species as you can see in the picture, with yellowish neck fur and blue butts in the males. The grow around 50 centimeters long from head to vent, and have a tail that is usually longer than that. The dryas monkey is very similar to the Diana monkey and previous was believed to be a subspecies of the Diana monkey, but recent genetic studies show it may not even belong in the same genus (Cercopithecus) and may instead belong in the genus Chlorocebus. Like many rainforest primate species, it is endangered mainly due to habitat loss from logging and also is hunted for bushmeat.

The yellow-crested helmetshrike is a bird growing around 28 centimeters long and is only found in the forests of the Congo. Despite their name, helmetshrikes are not related to true shrikes and are instead closer to the vangas of Madagascar. Like a shrike though, this bird is predatory and catches small prey like insects from a perch. Now endangered due to habitat loss, this bird isn't seen much and not a lot is known about it either, though is is known to be social and appear in pairs or loose colonies.

Description
Deep in the central African rainforest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a small troop of dryas monkeys (Cercopithecus dryas) scampering across the branches of the trees have come across another elusive mammal found only in this part of the world. Walking on the forest floor below is an okapi (Okapia johnstoni), a large ungulate that is rarely seen in the wild. The hoofed mammal walks closer to the monkeys, but this docile creature poses them no threat and is a herbivore, and sticks out its long purple-black tongue to get some of the leaves off the treee to eat. A curious bird, a yellow-crested helmetshrike (Prionops alberti) , has also taken a small moment to observe the okapi and also hopes to catch any insects disturbed by its movement.

Something I drew for National Endangered Species Day (May 21) as well as for this Animal of the Month event (www.deviantart.com/moonymina/j… ). Also decided to try drawing it in a bit of an unconventional angle and do some perspective testing on the okapi.

An elusive and rare mammal found only in the jungles of the Congo basin, the okapi was only first known to the western world in the 20th century, though native people seem to have known about it much longer. The okapi is quite unlike any other extant animal, with mainly brown fur but stripes very similar to those on a zebra on its rear and legs, which has led early explorers to believe it was some unknown kind of forest zebra. In actuality, the okapi is a species of Giraffid, and the closest living relative of giraffes. Some similarities can be observed in the two animals, like the long neck (much longer in a giraffe though), horn-like ossicones on the head and the long, muscular purple tongue used to grab leaves. Unlike most other ungulates, the okapi is solitary and does not form herds for protection, but then again being 2.5 meters long, reaching 1.5 meters at the shoulder and weighing up to 350 kilograms, there's not much in its jungle habitat other than leopards and humans that can hunt it. Unfortunately the okapi is an endangered species threatened by habitat loss from the clearing of its rainforest home and illegal hunting for its skin and meat. It is fully protected by Congolese law and several reserves have been set up for this animal, but illegal armed groups in the Congan jungles makes protection more difficult.

Also called the Salonga monkey, ekele or inoko, the dryas monkey is a species of guenon monkey found only in the Congo and is extremely rare, possibly less than 200 individuals existing now. The dryas monkey is a colorful species as you can see in the picture, with yellowish neck fur and blue butts in the males. The grow around 50 centimeters long from head to vent, and have a tail that is usually longer than that. The dryas monkey is very similar to the Diana monkey and previous was believed to be a subspecies of the Diana monkey, but recent genetic studies show it may not even belong in the same genus (Cercopithecus) and may instead belong in the genus Chlorocebus. Like many rainforest primate species, it is endangered mainly due to habitat loss from logging and also is hunted for bushmeat.

The yellow-crested helmetshrike is a bird growing around 28 centimeters long and is only found in the forests of the Congo. Despite their name, helmetshrikes are not related to true shrikes and are instead closer to the vangas of Madagascar. Like a shrike though, this bird is predatory and catches small prey like insects from a perch. Now endangered due to habitat loss, this bird isn't seen much and not a lot is known about it either, though is is known to be social and appear in pairs or loose colonies.