Chester ZooZookeepers threw a coming-out party for the baby calf of an okapi couple–a rare birth of ‘one of the least known and understood species on the planet’.Known as the forest giraffe, the endangered mammal was born at Chester Zoo on May 12 to a 10-year-old mother and a 20-year-old male named Stomp.The adorable calf, named Arabi, has been snuggled up in a nest behind-the-scenes but has now taken her first tentative steps outside at six-weeks-old.Heartwarming photos and the video below shows the leggy youngster exploring her enclosure for the first time with some gentle encouragement from mum.Conservationists hope the birth will shed new light on this shy and elusive species, which is classified as endangered, but was only scientifically discovered in 1901.Arabi’s namesake is a village located in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, inside the only country where okapi are found–the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Africa.It’s estimated that fewer than 10,000 remain in the wild, living in the dense rainforests in the DRC where their zebra stripes act as camouflage.Chester ZooThe English zoo and its partners say the new arrival will be considered a ‘vital’ part of the global population.LOOK: Man Became Friends With a Fish and the Pair ‘Meet’ Every Summer in the Same Wisconsin Lake”Every birth is incredibly special indeed,” said Hannah Owens, an okapi keeper at Chester Zoo. ” The Check
The baby calf of an okapi couple was the subject of a coming-out party hosted by zookeepers, marking the unique birth of” one of the least known and understood species on the planet.” The threatened mammal, also known as the forest giraffe, was born on May 12 at Chester Zoo to Stomp, a 20-year-old male, and his mother, who was 10 years old. The gorgeous
The first article to appear on Good News Network was” The Birth of Rare Okapi at Zoo Is Inspiring Hope for One of the Least Realized Endangered Species on Earth.”
