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Okapi
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===Diet=== [[File:Okapi tongue.jpg|thumbnail|left|The long tongue of the okapi]] Okapis are [[herbivore]]s, feeding on tree leaves and buds, [[branch]]es, [[Poaceae|grasses]], [[fern]]s, fruits, and [[fungus|fungi]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Okapia_johnstoni/ | title=Okapia johnstoni (Okapi) | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] }}</ref> They are unique in the Ituri Forest as they are the only known mammal that feeds solely on understory vegetation, where they use their {{convert|18|in|cm|adj=mid|-long}} tongues to selectively browse for suitable plants. The tongue is also used to groom their ears and eyes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.giraffidsg.org/files/2016/02/Okapi-conservation-strategy-2015-2025-final-EN1.pdf|title=Okapi Conservation Strategy and Status Review|date=2018-02-21|website=www.giraffidsg.org|access-date=2018-02-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221222436/http://www.giraffidsg.org/files/2016/02/Okapi-conservation-strategy-2015-2025-final-EN1.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> They prefer to feed in [[treefall gap]]s. The okapi has been known to feed on over 100 species of plants, some of which are known to be poisonous to humans and other animals. Fecal analysis shows that none of those 100 species dominates the diet of the okapi. Staple foods comprise [[shrub]]s and [[liana]]s. The main constituents of the diet are woody, [[dicot]]yledonous species; [[monocot]]yledonous plants are not eaten regularly. In the Ituri forest, the okapi feeds mainly upon the plant families [[Acanthaceae]], [[Ebenaceae]], [[Euphorbiaceae]], [[Flacourtiaceae]], [[Loganiaceae]], [[Rubiaceae]], and [[Violaceae]].<ref name=bodmer/><ref name=hart/>
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