Co-author Marcia with Zuri

The okapi barn at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park has been a bustling place of late. Our training program has been coming along beautifully; we can now perform a variety of husbandry procedures with the okapis without anesthesia. We can take temperatures, lift and examine feet, perform ultrasounds, and undertake many other procedures designed to help us care for these very special animals. We have even drawn blood from two okapis with their cooperation!
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One of the most frequent comments heard at the okapi exhibit in the Wild Animal Park’s Heart of Africa habitat is “Hey, it’s a zebra-horse!” However, okapis are not very closely related to either zebras or horses; the unusual and eye-catching okapi is most closely related to the giraffe.
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