Not a Unicorn: An Okapi in the Wild: First Picture

LONDON (AP) — Zoologists have captured the first photos of the okapi in the wild, saying Thursday they offered evidence that the animal once mistaken for a unicorn has managed to survive war and poaching in a park in a lawless swath of Congo.

The doe-eyed animal, which can be found in zoos worldwide, is a relative of the giraffe but has zebra-like stripes on its legs and rear.

The species was unknown to European scientists until a century ago. It is thought to have inspired claims of unicorn sightings by Victorian-era explorers, said Noelle Kumpel, a conservationist with the Zoological Society of London, which released the photos.

The male has two horns on its forehead, but they can look like one horn if glimpsed from the side. "Stories came back of this mythical creature and the fact that it might be a unicorn," Kumpel said.

The photos were taken by cameras set up in the Virunga National Park by the zoological society and conservationists in Congo after okapi tracks were spotted there a few years ago.

The animal's stripes are sometimes called "come follow me stripes," because their bold pattern is believed to help young ones follow their mothers through the forest. Each animal's stripes are unique, like fingerprints.

The okapi is only known to exist in Congo, primarily further north in Ituri provinces's Okapi Wildlife Reserve. There, they are difficult to spot because they are shy and usually only move around in couples. Virunga officials say before the okapi was captured on camera, it was not known whether it still roamed the park.