Okapi in North America

Okapikpr: Are there any other females that you know of that are pregnant in the US. I'm also curious as to what the maximum okapi capacity of the US is and how many births needed to occur each year to sustain the population, if it needs sustained at all.
 
Bronx, White Oak, Brookfield, Disney all have pregnant females.

The maximum capacity for okapi in the US may well be just over 100 and maybe more like 120. I can theoretically hold 5 more animals at White Oak. The population is targeted to reach 200 and there are still several zoos wishing to join the SSP (Memphis, Little Rock, Charles Paddock, Virginia, North Carolina, Jacksonville, etc).

Okapi dont live that long (15-20 yrs) and definitely need a sustaining number of births to maintain such a population. Its really not my place to speculate on these things, but the SSP reccommends that 20 births occur every two years to maintain the current population and increase the numbers to 200 in the next 20 years.

Last year there were only 5 okapi births in the US.
 
okapikpr said:
A female okapi calf was born February 28 at the Bronx Zoo.
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Do you know the last time they had a calf? I used to visit once or twice a year and every time it seemed they had a calf but the last few years I have not seen one. They also had a second okapi enclosure until the african dog exhibit so that might have shrunk the number of okapi they could house.
 
Blackduiker

After viewing Okapi at both the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park for years, it was always a dream of mine to see them exhibited in Los Angeles. I consider them one of the elite species in zoological collections and always thought they would thrive here. Well that dream came true just a few years ago, and we now rotate two males in the current space shared with my namesake Black Duikers. It is hoped that we'll someday acquire a female for breeding, and help continue the legacy of these beautiful creatures for years to come.

In past discussions, the zoo director has proposed the space adjoining the Campo Gorilla Reserve which was formerly used for White Rhinos many years ago, then more recently Black Rhinos for a future Okapi habitat. Hopes for private donations were mentioned. I'd like to see that plan come to fruition one day soon.
 
Blackduiker

ColumbusZoo001 said:
Is Los Angeles on the SSP waiting list?
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Yes. When we received our first male from Disney's Animal Kingdom, it was to be a test of husbandry seeing that we had never exhibited this species before. A female was to follow in the next few years. Hopefully soon. If memory serves me right, that's been 2 or 3 years now.
 
How is the Okapi population doing in the SSP? The EEP was struggling a few years back.
 
Okapikpr is obviously the expert, but here is what I know. The SSP is currently ok however the birth rate isn't sufficient to boost the population and it may not be high enough to maintain the population. We want the population boost for captive population security reasons and a few zoos still want to join the SSP. For now, we're ok but a few years down the line there could be problems.
 
ColumbusZoo001 said:
Okapikpr is obviously the expert, but here is what I know. The SSP is currently ok however the birth rate isn't sufficient to boost the population and it may not be high enough to maintain the population. We want the population boost for captive population security reasons and a few zoos still want to join the SSP. For now, we're ok but a few years down the line there could be problems.
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Thanks for the update.
 
@ okapikpr: At what age does the SSP recommend females to begin breeding at? Damisi will be four this year so I'm assuming she could reproduce very soon. And I'm assuming the recommendation is for El Jewar, not Karatasi.
 
ColumbusZoo001 said:
@ okapikpr: At what age does the SSP recommend females to begin breeding at? Damisi will be four this year so I'm assuming she could reproduce very soon. And I'm assuming the recommendation is for El Jewar, not Karatasi.
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Whenever they get a breeding recommedation and begin cycling, which usually occurs between 2-3 years of age. Damisi may not be bred with El Jewar, due to some aggression issues. Karatasi is a backup bull at Columbus and can be used as long as he physically can. I dont know if Columbus has done any introductions with Karatasi and Damisi. Karatasi is rather old and hasnt been aging so well.
 
Unfortunately with his leg buckling I don't think he will be able to reproduce for long, and I haven't heard of any introductions between him and Damisi. Thanks for answering my question!
 
If anyone has some spare Okapi, send 'em to Toronto ;) One of these days I'll get myself to the Bronx Zoo and check 'em out there. I haven't had my Okapi fix since '99 when I visited London.
 
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