Baby Okapi Born In A Czech Zoo

An okapi calf was born in the zoo in East Bohemian town Dvur Kralove nad Labem last Sunday, September 22. It is the first baby okapi that has been ever born in the Czech Republic. Okapi is a very rare species native to Central Africa discovered by Europeans only in the beginning of the 20th century. Though striped as zebras, okapis are the only closest living nowadays relatives to giraffes and are sometimes called "forest giraffes".

Okapis reside only in Itury rainforests situated in the Northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and are rather rare in our days. Barely 10,000 are survived until now although they are not classified as an endangered species. In the Dvur Kralove zoo these herbivorous mammals has been living since 2004. A representative of the zoo Jana Mysliveckova informed CTK that the newborn is doing fine and its mother Etana takes a good care of the baby.

Photo: by Raul654 (wikimedia.org)