Okapi born at Antwerp Zoo
At Antwerp Zoo, the okapis Zaïre and Ubundu have welcomed a calf into the world. The birth is important for the international breeding programme for this critically endangered species. The calf, a male, is doing well.
The birth went smoothly, the zookeepers explained. “We watched via the webcam and saw that Zaïre immediately licked her calf dry and that it was soon standing cautiously on its striped legs,” stated keeper Isabel. “Those are always blissful moments for the whole team.”
The okapi is an endangered species found exclusively in the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is estimated that about 10,000 animals still live in the wild, but their habitat is under pressure from deforestation, mining, and poaching.
Antwerp Zoo manages the global okapi studbook and coordinates the European breeding programme. The zoo thus plays a key role in the conservation of the species, and this birth takes that role a step further.
Through the Antwerp Zoo Foundation, the zoo has also been supporting conservation projects in the Congolese rainforest for over thirty years. According to the organisation, protecting okapis in the wild also safeguards other species and ecosystems.
The calf does not yet have a name. As always, the public can help decide, and will be able to vote via social media for the options chosen by the keepers: Bikenge, Bayo, and Bodhi. All animals born at Antwerp Zoo this year are given a name starting with the letter ‘B’.
#FlandersNewsService | Xandor, an okapi born at the Antwerp Zoo in 2022 © BELGA PHOTO HANDOUT ZOO ANTWERPEN
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