The Oklahoma City Zoo announced the birth of a rare, endangered okapi calf.Authorities said the male calf was born around 3:45 a.m. Sept. 7 in the zoo’s okapi barn. The calf is the first offspring born to mother Kayin and father Bosomi and the seventh okapi born at the zoo.| MORE | OKC Zoo’s critically endangered Sumatran tiger twins on public viewKayin was the last okapi born at the Oklahoma City Zoo. She was born in 2015.”We are overjoyed about the arrival of Kayin’s first calf and welcoming this new generation to our okapi family,” said Tracey Dolphin, OKC Zoo’s curator of hoofstock and primates. “Kayin is being a very attentive first-time mother and demonstrating exceptional maternal care. Her new calf is healthy and strong, and meeting his milestones including nursing and bonding with mom.”Kayin and her newborn calf are in good health and enjoying quality time away from public view, zoo officials said. The okapi calf was standing and nursing an hour after being born. | MORE | African lioness at Oklahoma City Zoo is pregnantThe unnamed calf will remain behind the scenes at the okapi barn as Oklahoma City Zoo officials enter a nesting phase for several weeks. Okapis are native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa and are often referred to as the “ghosts of the forests” because they are reclusive.| MORE | 14-year-old chimpanzee at Oklahoma City Zoo is pregnantThe International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies okapis as endangered. Okapi populations in the wild are estimated between 10,000 and 50,000, and they are decreasing primarily because of habitat loss resulting from logging and human settlement.The presence of illegal armed groups around protected areas and poaching are major threats, officials said.
The Oklahoma City Zoo announced the birth of a rare, endangered okapi calf.
Authorities said the male calf was born around 3:45 a.m. Sept. 7 in the zoo’s okapi barn. The calf is the first offspring born to mother Kayin and father Bosomi and the seventh okapi born at the zoo.
| MORE | OKC Zoo’s critically endangered Sumatran tiger twins on public view
Kayin was the last okapi born at the Oklahoma City Zoo. She was born in 2015.
“We are overjoyed about the arrival of Kayin’s first calf and welcoming this new generation to our okapi family,” said Tracey Dolphin, OKC Zoo’s curator of hoofstock and primates. “Kayin is being a very attentive first-time mother and demonstrating exceptional maternal care. Her new calf is healthy and strong, and meeting his milestones including nursing and bonding with mom.”
Kayin and her newborn calf are in good health and enjoying quality time away from public view, zoo officials said. The okapi calf was standing and nursing an hour after being born.
| MORE | African lioness at Oklahoma City Zoo is pregnant
The unnamed calf will remain behind the scenes at the okapi barn as Oklahoma City Zoo officials enter a nesting phase for several weeks.
Okapis are native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa and are often referred to as the “ghosts of the forests” because they are reclusive.
| MORE | 14-year-old chimpanzee at Oklahoma City Zoo is pregnant
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature classifies okapis as endangered. Okapi populations in the wild are estimated between 10,000 and 50,000, and they are decreasing primarily because of habitat loss resulting from logging and human settlement.
The presence of illegal armed groups around protected areas and poaching are major threats, officials said.
