One okapi chases the other… This Friday, October 9, the young okapi named Dayo, aged 2 years and 10 months, left the Mulhouse zoological and botanical park to join the Falconara zoological park in Italy. This mammal, which belongs to the giraffe family, arrived at the park on May 22, 2019 from the Frankfurt Zoo in Germany.
The next day, this Saturday, Azizi, aged 9 years and 11 months, took over. The animal, born in Lisbon, has so far lived in Falconara Park. He will join the other Dayo, the oldest Okapi of the Park, aged 14.
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The okapi is an extremely inconspicuous species in nature. It was observed by European settlers only at the very beginning of the XXe century. This animal is unfortunately threatened by poaching and the destruction of its environment, strongly impacted by mines of diamonds, gold and coltan, an ore used in the manufacture of electronic components for smartphones and tablets.
Political instability and armed conflicts in Congo make its protection difficult, but the Mulhouse Zoological and Botanical Park financially supports the Okapi Conservation Project association, which fights against poaching, protects the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the north of the country, and campaigns to stop the expansion of illegal mines.
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