ANIMALS
More: San Antonio Zoo Celebrates The Birth Of A Rare & Endangered Okapi Calf (9/4/23)
The San Antonio Zoo in Texas on Wednesday announced the birth of an endangered okapi calf on Saturday after a long 14-month pregnancy for first-time mother Ludimi.
The male calf was born Saturday to Ludimi and first-time dad Epulu, and will remain behind the scenes with mom until he’s ready to begin exploring his wider habitat, the zoo said.
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome this adorable okapi calf into our San Antonio Zoo family, Tim Morrow, president and CEO of San Antonio Zoo, said in a statement. We invite everyone to join us in this extraordinary journey on our social platforms and soon at the zoo as we closely observe the calf’s growth and development.
Okapis appear striped like zebras, but are in fact the closest relative of the giraffe. The elusive species, known as the African Unicorn, wasn’t discovered until 1901, the zoo said. Their tongues measure up to 14 inches long, which allows them to strip leaves from vegetation in their native habitat in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to the zoo, wild okapis are threatened by poaching, habitat destruction, and human encroachment.
According to the Observatory for Central Africa Forests (OFAC), the Congo Basin Rainforests are currently at risk of losing over a quarter of its ecosystem by 2050 due to deforestation. Illegal logging, mining, urban expansion, the bushmeat trade, and agricultural development are the primary factors contributing to this alarming destruction, the zoo said.
The calf will be named at the 41st Annual Zoobilation Ball on Nov. 10, the zoo’s largest annual fundraiser. The naming opportunity will be one of the live auction packages at the event.
