A 4-year-old okapi, an African ruminant considered to be one of the rarest animals in the world, has delivered a baby at the city-run zoo here.
Reira, as the female okapi is called, gave birth at Zoorasia on Tuesday morning.
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| Reira, the okapi of Yokohama |
The baby, measuring 80 cm in length and weighing 25 kg, managed to stand on its feet about an hour after birth, zoo officials said, adding that they do not yet know the gender of the newborn.
Although okapis were born at zoos overseas last year, Tuesday's birth at the Yokohama zoo marks the first ever in Japan, they said.
The officials said they will take every possible precaution in raising the offspring, pointing to the high mortality rate of okapis in their first month.
As young okapis are vulnerable to the cold, the officials said they will see to it that the temperature inside the rearing house is maintained at around 20 C.
For some time, visitors can see the baby okapi only via a video monitor. Zoorasia plans the first public appearance of the baby next spring and will solicit name ideas from the public at that time.
Okapis belong to the same family as the giraffe but have a much shorter neck. A grown okapi can reach a length of some 1.5 meters, with a neck of some 50 cm.