Male calf the second baby of Lumara and Kitabu
Dublin Zoo is celebrating the arrival of a male okapi calf. The child was born within the early morning of Thursday the seventh of July to oldsters Lumara (7y) and Kitabu (14y). Standing simply 20 minutes after being born and suckling inside hours, the infant is in glorious well being, and he has been rising steadily prior to now month.
That is the second okapi ever to be born in Eire. The primary, a feminine named Dalia additionally born at Dublin Zoo to oldsters Lumara and Kitabu was born on thirty first October 2019. As with Dalia, Lumara has been displaying glorious maternal instincts for the reason that very starting. Kitabu has additionally been displaying nice curiosity within the new child’s growth.
Helen Clarke, staff chief at Dublin Zoo mentioned: “We’re completely delighted to welcome this okapi calf to Dublin Zoo. The species is listed as Endangered so each beginning is extraordinarily essential. The toddler is nesting in the mean time, as is typical for okapi calves, however will quickly emerge to accompany his mom into their outside habitat.”
“The child is doing very properly and guests to the zoo strolling by the African Plains could also be fortunate sufficient to get a glimpse of the brand new arrival within the coming days,” she concluded.
Okapis are a big, hoofed animal associated to the giraffe. They’ve a red-brown, velvety coat with distinctive black and white stripes on their again legs. Like giraffes, okapis have lengthy, darkish tongues. Okapis are herbivores (plant eaters) that eat a food plan of leaves, shoots, fruit and fungi. In addition they eat clay and charcoal (from burnt bushes) to assist neutralise toxins in crops and to realize minerals.
Toddler okapis spend most of their time of their nest/cover below the safety of their mom throughout their first two months.
The okapi is listed as Endangered by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature Crimson listing (a crucial indicator of the well being of the world’s biodiversity) attributable to habitat loss, looking, deforestation and civil unrest. Their pure habitat is the dense forests of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa. You possibly can learn extra about their conservation right here: https://www.dublinzoo.ie/conservation-project/okapi/
Dublin Zoo helps okapi conservation since 2012, with monetary contributions to help rangers and group providers in and across the Okapi Wildlife Reserve within the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve screens and protects okapi populations within the DRC.
