Rare okapi gives birth to 'incredibly special' calf at Chester Zoo

A rare okapi has given birth to an "incredibly special" calf at Chester Zoo.

The infant, who was born to first-time mum Ada and dad Stomp, has remained snuggled up in her nest ever since her arrival into the world.

Conservationists have named the female calf 'Kora' - a nod to a small village inside the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, located in The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Kora is the only place on Earth where the animals can be found in the wild.

Rosie Owen, Zookeeper at Chester Zoo, said: “Kora is an incredibly special calf and, for the first two months of life, she’s been snuggled up quietly bonding with mum - all the while building up the courage to step outside for the very first time.

“This is the first calf to be born to mum Ada as part of an endangered species breeding programme and she’s doing a wonderful job of caring for her new baby.

"She regularly feeds her, cleans her and even gives her gentle nudges of encouragement, it’s a real joy to watch.”

What is an okapi?

The okapi, with its distinctive markings and often known as the forest giraffe, is under severe threat from poachers, logging, illegal mining and unrest in their native areas of the north eastern rainforests of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Their numbers have plummeted from 250,000 in 1901 to around 10,000 today. 

They can grow to almost five-foot-tall at the shoulder with an average body length of eight feet, weigh up to 350 kilograms and can live to 30 years. 

During the vulnerable first few months of a calf’s life, the mother Okapi will hide her youngster in a nest or undergrowth in the wild.

The okapi is the national animal for the DRC and is protected under Congolese law. However, threats such as habitat loss, hunting for their meat and previous civil unrest in the country has resulted in 50% of its population being wiped out in the last 25 years.

It’s estimated that around 10,000 okapi remain in the wild and the world’s authority on the status of the natural world, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has classified the species as endangered.

Mike Jordan, Animal and Plant Director at the zoo, added: “With only 14 okapis in zoos across the UK, and five of those being here at Chester, the arrival of Kora is a huge cause for celebration for this magnificent species.

"The okapi is one of the animal kingdom’s most mysterious creatures, and it has sadly undergone a huge decline over the last few decades, with numbers of reported sightings becoming less common.

“There’s now an increasing amount of pressure on modern zoos, like ours, to help boost numbers in conservation breeding programmes and care for a safety-net population to ensure its continued survival.”