Endangered creatures return home more than a decade after violent attack: 'Having them in our forests is a great source of pride'

After a violent attack on humans and okapi in 2012, the first okapi are being brought back to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as reported by Mongabay. 

"Having them in our forests is a great source of pride," said Dieudonné Lossa, a member of the local community and provincial coordinator of the REDD+ climate working group.

Rangers at the reserve, in partnership with the Okapi Conservation Project, brought an okapi to Epulu, the site of the reserve's headquarters. It was the first of the species to be there in over 10 years following the armed attack that killed seven people and all 14 of the existing animals.

Though the endangered okapi's presence is precarious, conservationists are hopeful.

"We welcome the return of the okapi with great joy after the tragedy in Epulu," said Andy Kambale Matuku, per Mongabay. Matuku is the coordinator of the environmental organization Journalist Friends of Nature in the DRC's Ituri province, where the preserve is located.

The okapi is highly regarded with pride as an animal of great cultural importance, symbolizing cleanliness and peace. The nonviolent creatures have been endangered by armed gangs, poachers, the illegal timber trade, and illegal gold mining — actions that have threatened their natural habitat.

They are so threatened that the preserve will not share all of the information about their precise location in order to protect their safety.

Conservationists are hoping to preserve the difficult-to-protect okapi population for future generations.

Protecting native species is vital to the region — and any region — in order to maintain a balanced ecology to support the sustainability of the environment and stability of food chains. A balanced ecosystem maintains the biodiversity of animal and plant species that helps ecosystems become more resilient to changes in climate and weather or human activities. 

The existence of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve is critical to the okapi.

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