Endangered okapi at Oklahoma City Zoo is pregnant
Published in Weird News
(UPI) The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden has announced that its adult female okapi, named Kayin, will be giving birth to her first calf this fall.
Okapi are endangered and are being threatened by illegal hunting, habitat loss and mining practices in Central Africa.
This will be the first offspring for Kayin and okapi Bosomi. The last okapi born at the zoo was Kayin in 2015.
The zoo's veterinary team confirmed Kayin's pregnancy through ultrasound. The expecting mother is in good health and will stay with a daily routine of diet, training and spending time with Bosomi throughout the pregnancy.
The zoo also uploaded to Twitter Kayin's ultrasound.
"We are extremely excited about Kayin's pregnancy and cannot wait to see her caring for her own calf. An okapi birth is a significant event not only for our animal family buy for the okapi population as a whole. By participating in a successful breeding program with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for okapi, the zoo is contributing to the conversation of this endangered species," Tracey Dolphin, the zoo's curator of hoofstock and primates.
Copyright 2022 by United Press International
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