Okapi's

Bristol okapis
18-07-2008

Re Pertinax's recent posting - it is a good job that Bristol exported those few okapis to keep their bloodline going . By my reckoning the herd built up to 14 animals by the end of 1977 but by 1989 was down to 2 - Josef from Frankfurt and Babs from the Bristol line .

Going off on a tangent regarding elephant Rosie at Bristol - was she used for giving rides there . The she died in 1961 to be replaced by Wendy and Christina but the house was not altered to include a paddock until 1964 . My oldest Bristol guidebook is dated 1963 and includes a picture of a camel giving rides - it could be that rather than Rosie I remember having a ride on . Also I might have had an elephnat ride at R. Park instead .

18-07-2008

the last Bristol bred okapi was I think, 'Mikeno' a male who died a few years ago without breeding. He lived in the older zebra/okapi house(now Cassowaries?) near the Guthrie Road entrance.

Rosie the elephant definately gave rides to children. I have the zoo postcard of her doing so. There were mounting stairs on the main drive near the central office building from where she walked up to the Aquarium and back. The camel was called(I think) 'Mary' and she gave rides also- there is a postcard of her too.

Wendy and Christina were walked around the zoo until quite large but never trained for riding, except by a keeper..

18-07-2008

Are you referring to the female calf born 2nd June(mother Zukisa) or another one which has been born since then?

The 2nd June calf was -I thought- called Kibibi(or similar) as mention was made that she had the same name as Rotterdam's recent calf. Have they now changed her name to avoid confusion- or is this another calf?

18-07-2008

The Marwell Okapi was renamed - only 1 has been born

18-07-2008

It's the female calf of Isiro and Zukisa. She was named Kibibi after her granddad Kiburi and grandma Bibi,but Rotterdam already had a Kibibi, so they changed it.
Probably no calf for Dumela

21-07-2008

So the London Okapi was born on the 14th?

22-07-2008

It appears so. There's no announcement about it yet though.

22-07-2008

It certainely does , hopefully there will be confirmation that everything is OK there soon.

Marwell's baby okapi Hazina
02-08-2008

The August edition of the Marwell August e-newsletter includes a film of the birth and first steps of Hazina .

10-10-2008

The male okapi young in Dvur Kralove (Etana x Ahadi) has got a name - Ewango.

29-03-2009

Anyone have information regarding the okapi born March 25 in Stuttgart?

30-03-2009

There is also an old female living at Marwell (Mika) who was imported from Bristol, shes 21 now i believe, but wether she was born at Bristol i dont know?

As for josef he was a very aggressive animal, he had to be seperated from the females during oestrus time with a tractor with a huge plywood sheet attached to the front! and still he'd attack that!

30-03-2009

And they say okapis are ellusive creatures

01-04-2009

Lodja, the female at Bristol can also be a madam! the baby Okapi born at London died at a week old, not sure why

17-04-2009

Her name is Zawadi, what means gift.

More news from Stuttgart;
Steve (born in 2007) is going to Leipzig and Kitabu (born in 2008) is going to Rotterdam.