World Okapi Day 2018

After celebrating World Okapi Day for the first time in DR Congo in 2017, the Okapi Conservation Project (OCP) wanted to increase the profile and the reach of the activities in 2018 by expanding the activities to include women’s groups in the selected towns and villages. In addition to garnering support through social media postings and events held at zoos around the world that generously support OCP, we celebrated a series of organized events in four villages and towns around the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. The events were planned to run simultaneously in the towns and villages of Epulu, Mambasa, Mungbere and Watsa; these four areas are within the okapi’s native range and where the bulk of the okapi population resides. OCP’s approach includes finding new ways to engage the local communities, and a community celebration on World Okapi Day was a way to create long-lasting excitement for communities to protect okapi and their habitat.  To read more, click here.