Species around the world are being increasingly threatened human activity. Lamentably, hundreds thousands of creatures have already become extinct as the result humans' ever-increasing demands Earth's resources. Gold mining a national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo is putting risk an animal called the okapi. The park is called the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The okapi is also called the forest giraffe as it is a relative the giraffe. However, its neck is nowhere near as long as that a giraffe's. It is also known as the zebra giraffe due to its striped hind legs. The okapi is only found the area of Congo that is being mined.
Conservationists have called an immediate halt to the "rapidly expanding" levels mining. They have urged the government to revoke the mining company's license, to "protect the unique forest ecosystem and the local communities that depend it". The conservationists warned that: "Miners are literally eating the reserve of its wildlife hunting animals food. There is almost no wildlife left the mine itself, and wildlife numbers are massively reduced around mining towns. There have even been cases armed hunters trafficking okapi skins and elephant ivory and around the mines." They added that: "If the Congo government acts now, this unique World Heritage Site can still be saved."
