Species are increasingly threatened by human activity. Hundreds of thousands of creatures are already extinct because of our increasing demands on resources. Gold mining in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Congo is putting at risk an animal called the okapi. This is also called the forest giraffe because it is a relative of the giraffe. However, its neck is nowhere near as long as that of a giraffe's. It is only found in the area of Congo where mining is taking place.

Conservationists want the "rapidly expanding" levels of mining to stop. They asked the government to remove the mining company's license, to "protect the unique forest ecosystem". They warned that: "There is almost no wildlife left around the mine, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced.…There have even been cases of armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant ivory in and around the mines."