San Diego Zoo celebrates birth of endangered okapi calf

SAN DIEGO (FOX5/KUSI)--The San Diego Zoo welcomed a newborn female okapi calf to its Lost Forest exhibit last Tuesday.

The calf was born to mom Subira and first-time dad Kapu, marking the first okapi born at the zoo since 2021.

Okapis have back and white stripes on their legs like a zebra, but are actually more related to giraffes, only with shorter necks and legs.

When the calves are born during winter, they typically are unable to thermoregulate, so the zoo tends to keep them in sheltered areas until they are a few months old.

However, since the weather in San Diego has been warm recently, zoo officials decided to have this calf born in the park's okapi habitat, which mimics a dense Central African rainforest that the species calls its home.

With the calf able to roam in its habitat