TAMPA, Fla. -- ZooTampa has welcomed a new baby with chocolate brown fur and zebra-like striped legs.
The Okapi calf was born this week to parents Betty and Zach, who arrived at the zoo in 2006. The zoo said the birth of this shy, rare animal draws much-needed attention to a species in need of saving.
The zoo said Okapi have faces resembling giraffes -- of which they are the only living relative -- and typically hide in the dense greenery of the Ituri Forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their secretive lives and national conflict have made studying these animals a challenge.
The Okapi is about the size of a horse and is one of the oldest mammals in the world. The Okapi Conservation Project said it’s only been known to the western world since the early 20th century.
The zoo works with the Okapi Conservation Project, an international effort to protect the species from extinction and protect its small natural habitat in the Congo.
“Exact numbers are difficult to determine, but an estimated 10,000 – 35,000 live in the protected reserves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Chris Massaro, general curator at Zoo Tampa. “Unfortunately, their numbers continue to decline, due to human encroachment and hunting, making this an extremely important birth for ZooTampa and the Species Survival Plan to protect wildlife.”
The zoo said Betty’s prenatal care included regular ultrasounds and a high-energy diet. For the first time in the care of this species, the zoo also used a milk-testing method -- often found helpful in horses and rhinoceros -- to attempt to predict Betty’s due date.
Zookeepers said Betty is naturally shy but still comfortable with her caretakers and allowed them to collect the milk samples for testing.
Okapi typically reach maturity at 2 years old and naturally branch out on their own. Once the calf reaches that age, it will likely move to a new home as part of the Species Survival Plan.
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