Okapi Calf Born At Brookfield Zoo

BROOKFIELD, IL — An okapi calf was born at Brookfield Zoo on May 16. He has access to outside, but currently is spending the majority of his time indoors in a nesting site. The zoo said when the calf is about three months old, zoogoers can see him and his mom, 6-year-old Augusta K, more regularly in their outdoor area. When not visible outside, guests can view a live video feed that will be set up in the zoo’s Habitat Africa! The Forest beginning next week.

According to a release, in the wild, an okapi calf spends most of its first two months of life alone and hidden in vegetation to protect it from predators. The mom returns to the nesting site only to nurse her calf. Her nutritiously rich milk helps the young animal double its starting weight of about 60 pounds to nearly 120 pounds within its first month.

The zoo said this calf marks the 28th okapi born at Brookfield Zoo, which was the first zoo in North America to have a birth of this species in 1959. The pairing of Augusta K and the calf’s sire, 21-year-old Hiari, was based on a recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Okapi Species Survival Plan. This is the second offspring for the pair. Their last calf, also a male, was born in 2015.

According to a release, okapi are often referred to as “forest giraffes,” okapi’s closest relative is the giraffe. They have creamy white stripes on their hind end and front upper legs and white “ankle stockings” on their lower legs. The stripes help okapi blend into the shadows of the forest and make them very difficult to see, even when they are only a few feet away. Scientists speculate that okapi’s contrasting stripes are important for calf imprinting and act as a signal for a newborn to follow close behind its mother.

The zoo said Okapi are rare hoofed mammals native to the dense Ituri Forest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). American and European scientists discovered them in the early 1900s. The species is endangered due to civil unrest in the region, habitat deforestation, and illegal hunting.

Photos courtesy of Kelly Tone/Chicago Zoological Society.