On July 6, Kidomo was introduced to the rest of the okapi herd in the San Diego Zoo’s Ituri Forest. Since his birth on February 22, 2006, Kidomo and dam Kelle have been kept separate from our male, Biscotti, and female, Safarani. However, Kidomo is now old enough to ” hang with the group!” (Read Nerissa’s previous blog, Okapi Calf Learns the Ropes.)

For a few months now, all four okapis have been on exhibit but separated by a barrier fence. This still allowed them to see and smell each other every day, but kept Kidomo safe until he was big enough to live full time with his herd. We weren’t sure what to expect when we took down the fence, but were surprised to see Kidomo go right up to Biscotti for an up-close examination. Biscotti even ran away a few times!

Kidomo’s name means ” to stick one’s nose into,” and he was certainly living up to it that day! Safarani was equally interested in checking out our pint-sized Kidomo and followed him around for a bit. Only Kelle acted impassive about the whole affair; as a matter of fact, her only interest was the browse she had spotted on the other side of the fence! Within a few hours, all four okapis were really laid back with each other, and keepers were able to revise our watch to just a frequent check-in.

Our okapi calf is growing up fast, so make sure to check him and the rest of our herd out soon… they’ll be together on exhibit every day now!

Nerissa Foland is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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