OKAPI! LOS ANGELES ZOO!
From time to time I will share animal information from the Los Angeles Zoo with you and this one is very special. Here is the Okapi, closest relative to the giraffe. Gorgeous creature you most likely wont see on safari in Africa where they live since, unlike giraffees who travel in herds, the Okapi is solitary and shy.
You can see the family resemblence to a giraffe in the head - the male grows stubby horns much like that of male giraffes. Their thick red coat is velvety and very oily. The zebra like pattern on their legs may act as a “follow me” sign so that youngsters can stay close to their mothers in the dense central African forests they inhabit. They were discovered in 1901 by Europeans. A shy nature has saved them from extensive poaching but habitat destruction is a major problem. Political and civil unrest also makes conservation efforts very difficult.
This particular male okapi was transferred from Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Orlando, Florida. The LA ZOO has become part of the okapi Species Survival Plan (SSP) — the cooperative breeding program organized by the American Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). After a year to establish management and husbandry procedures we hope to obtain a female to complete the breeding pair. How adorable would a baby okapi be?