Photo: Chester Zoo
Someone is ready to leave the nest!
On Nov. 11, 2021, theChester Zooin England welcomed a rare okapi calf, according to a releasefrom the U.K. zoo.
Okapis are the giraffe’s only living relative and are native to the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo. The okapi is endangered, and just 14 of the animals live in U.K. zoos right now, so the new calf’s arrival at the Chester Zoo was an especially momentous occasion.
Chester Zoo
“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,” Rosie Owen, a keeper at Chester Zoo, shared in a statement.
Owen also said that Ada and Kora “have bonded brilliantly and are inseparable.”
The Chester Zoo hopes that Kora’s presence at the zoo encourages animal lovers to protect the okapi and other endangered species.
“With only 14 okapis in zoos across the U.K. 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,” Mike Jordan, the animal and plant director at the Chester Zoo, said in the facility’s release.
source: people.com
