Okapis are the wallflowers of the forest, so adept at avoiding interaction–even with other okapis–that western zoologists didn’t even document their existence till 1901. The calves don’t defecate for the first six months of their lives so predators can’t track them. That’s dedication. Getting these things to breed in captivity is not easy, so when a zoo pulls it off–like the Bronx Zoo recently did–they like to crow about it a little. From the Science section of the Times, For a Baby Okapi, Don’t Push Too Hard.
Douglas Quenqua 