Yorkshire Wildlife Park celebrates birth of baby Okapi in fight to protect endangered species
Doncaster’s award winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park is celebrating the birth of a baby Okapi.
Mother Ruby delivered the, yet to be named, infant on December 27.
Ruby was sent to Chester Zoo in 2023 to breed with their male Stomp, as part of the breeding programme for Okapi in zoos across Europe. Ruby returned to YWP in 2024 when she was several months pregnant. They have a gestation of 14-15 months.
Kyrie Birkett, Section Head of Hoofstock at YWP said: "We are delighted to welcome a baby Okapi! Even when just born, Okapi already have their distinctive stripes. The calf and mum Ruby are doing well.”
She added "We are really lucky to have Okapi at YWP, they are such an incredible and beautiful species which need protecting.
"We are so happy with how Ruby has already contributed to the breeding programme. Her first calf Mzimu was born in October 2021, and was the first Okapi calf successfully bred at the park.
"Mzimu has now joined the breeding programme at another zoo and is doing really well. It is so exciting to see Ruby with a new calf! She is an excellent mother and is very protective of her new baby.
“During the first few weeks, the calf will hide in a nest and only emerge to feed and interact with Ruby. So it might be a little while before anyone will be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of our new arrival!”
The 175-acre park, at Auckley, near Doncaster, is one of the few places in the UK where these traditionally shy and reclusive animals can be seen.
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 up to 30 years.
The Okapi, with its distinctive striped markings, is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.
Sometimes known as the forest giraffe, Okapi are the closest living relative to the giraffe.
They are under severe threat from poachers, logging, illegal mining and unrest in their native areas of the northeastern rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo.