Houston Zoo Wants You to Help Name Their Okapi Calf

Posted By : The Animal Facts Editorial Team

Date: August 6, 2020 12:30 pm

The okapi calf at Houston Zoo with her mother

Photo Credit: John Register/Houston Zoo

Houston Zoo in the USA is looking for help to select a name for their okapi calf.

Mother Sukari gave birth in the okapi yard at the zoo on July 19. Within an hour of the birth the calf was standing and has gone from strength to strength since then. The father of the calf is Kwame who also lives at Houston Zoo.

The okapi calf at Houston Zoo with her mother

Photo Credit: John Register/Houston Zoo

Now the little calf is ready to receive her name. Keepers have narrowed their list down to four Swahili names; Keki (Cake), Hasira (Feisty), Pipi (Candy), and Kivuli (Shadow).

Now you can vote on the name you like best for the calf by donating a dollar. These funds will support the Houston Zoo’s work with okapis at the zoo and in the wild. You can donate more than 1 dollar and each dollar equals one vote.

Houston Zoo will announce the winning name through their social media channels on Monday August 24th.

The okapi calf at Houston Zoo with her mother

Photo Credit: John Register/Houston Zoo

The okapi is listed as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

Houston Zoo support the conservation of okapi in the wild by providing funds to the Okapi conservation project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

To cast your vote and see more of the calf visit the zoo’s website – Houston Zoo

Learn more about the okapi – Okapi Fact File | The Animal Facts