Okapi
A forest-dwelling cousin of the giraffe — a rare, private creature seldom seen even by those who hunt for it.
An okapi in a dream is the dream's image of a rare, private creature that even devoted searchers seldom see. The okapi was unknown to outside science until very recently; the people of the forest had always known it was there. The dream brings the okapi when something in your life — a quiet talent, a piece of family knowledge, a part of yourself — has been real and unrecognised, and the public account of what is in the room does not include it. An okapi briefly glimpsed at a clearing is the dream telling you the rare thing is being witnessed at last. An okapi withdrawn into the deep forest at the first noise is the dream noting that the witnessing window was small and has already closed.