San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomes okapi calf to the herd - NBC San Diego

The number of okapis at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park increased by one recently with the birth of a male calf of the unique species nicknamed the "forest giraffe," it was announced Monday.

The as-yet-unnamed calf, which was born on Feb. 18, will be able to be viewed by safari park visitors daily starting in April in the safari park's African Woods area.

The calf was the first born to Mahameli ("Meli," mother) and Mpangi (Mm-pong-ee, father). Zookeepers say the young buck nurses several times a day and "likes to run circles around his mom and even playfully kick her once in a while," the safari park said in a news release sent out on Monday. "He also started taste-testing the [vegetation in his habitat], following Meli's lead."

The safari park and zoo now share a total of eight okapi between them: There are four males (Nanoki, Mpangi, Upepo and the calf) and one female (Mahameli) up at the safari park, while the zoo has Zuri & Toby, both males, and a single female (Subira). 

A reclusive species rarely seen in the wild, Okapi are native to central Africa and were discovered by Europeans in 1901. Although often confused with a zebra due to the black and white striped patterns on its front and hind legs, the okapi is actually the closest living relative to the giraffe.

Various causes, including habitat destructing and hunting, threaten the wild okapi in its native Central Africa, but, fortunately, "one-fifth of the okapi habitat within Africa's Ituri Forest was designated as a wildlife reserve [in 1992,]" the news release also stated. "And since okapis are an 'umbrella species,' by aiding in their conservation, we also contribute to the protection of other wildlife that coexist in their African habitat."

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