A unique-looking but adorable baby is wobbling around the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. From behind, he looks like a zebra. In fact, from toe to tummy, he appears to be fully zebra. But from the tummy up, he’s something else.
“This striped-booty cutie is already growing fast,” the zoo said in a Facebook post April 8. According to them, he is “nearly triple the size he was when he was first born” back on Feb. 8.
The calf is from a species called okapi, the only living relative of the giraffe, the zoo said in a news release.
Okapis are from the rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Like giraffes, okapis have large upright ears that can pick up even very faint sounds, a superpower that allows them to stay safe from predators in the wild. Okapis also have the giraffe’s long tongue that help them strip the buds and leaves from understory brush.
Sadly, okapis have not had an easy time in recent years.
“Hunting and ongoing habitat destruction, pose significant threats to the majestic okapi,” the zoo said.
“Fortunately, a positive development occurred in 1992, when a portion equivalent to one-fifth of the okapi habitat within Africa’s Ituri Forest was designated as a wildlife reserve. And since okapis are an “umbrella species,” by aiding in their conservation, we also contribute to the protection of other wildlife that coexist in their African habitat.”
The new baby, who hasn’t been named yet, was born to first-time mother and father Mahaheli and Mpangi.
He spends his days “basking in the sun and running around in the grass” with his mother, the zoo said. He can sometimes be seen running playfully in circles around his mother. Safari park visitors will be able to see the new calf on exhibit starting in mid-April.
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