At Beauval, a baby okapi born in front of visitors expands an already local line

A rare birth in the morning

The scene unfolded in the morning, on the okapi plain. On Thursday, August 13, at precisely 9:09 a.m., Quinta gave birth to her first calf in front of several visitors. The father, Mambasa, also becomes a parent for the first time. This birth has special significance for the ZooParc de Beauval, because Mambasa was himself born there in 2018. A new generation of okapis has therefore arrived in a group already shaped by the park’s history.

According to the first observations, the newborn appears to be male, but this information still has to be confirmed by the teams. His name has not yet been announced. The keepers want to take the time to choose it in the coming days, while the priority remains monitoring the mother and calf.

Quinta gave birth without intervention

The first signs of labor appeared shortly before 9 a.m. Quinta was then outside with Thamani, the other young female in the group. A keeper present on site immediately followed the situation to check that everything was proceeding normally. A few minutes later, the calf had been born and was already moving.

The birth took place naturally, without intervention by the animal care or veterinary teams. Thamani approached the newborn to smell it, in a first encounter described as calm. The keepers then preferred to separate her from Quinta so that the young mother and her calf could experience their first moments more peacefully.

For the visitors standing in front of the plain, the event was unusual. An okapi birth remains rare to observe, especially when it happens outside and without immediate handling of the newborn. The ZooParc de Beauval says the calf has not been weighed for the moment, because it stands up, moves around and nurses correctly.

The calf stood up very quickly

Less than an hour after its birth, around 9:45 a.m., the baby okapi was already standing on its long legs. Quinta licked it, stimulated it, then guided it toward her teats. The first nursing was observed one hour after birth, a sign closely monitored by keepers during the first hours of life.

Quinta is a first-time mother, but the first observations are reassuring. She appeared calm and attentive from the very first minutes. Madison, an animal keeper in the Asian Plain sector for nearly eight years, notes that the mother took very good care of the calf immediately after the birth, licking it and guiding it toward her teats.

A group now numbering five okapis

Before this birth, Beauval was home to four okapis: the males Bösi and Mambasa, as well as the females Quinta and Thamani. The arrival of the newborn now brings the group to five individuals. Bösi, the eldest, was born in 2007 at the Berlin Zoological Garden. Quinta was born at Basel Zoo in 2019 and arrived at Beauval in 2021. Thamani, born at Wilhelma Zoo in Stuttgart in 2022, arrived the following year.

This is the third okapi birth recorded at the park. The first, that of M’Buti, dates back to June 27, 2013. This female left for Rotterdam Zoo in 2015. The second birth took place on August 4, 2018 with Mambasa, who still lives at Beauval and is now becoming a father in turn.

A pregnancy monitored week after week

The last mating between Quinta and Mambasa had been observed in May 2025. From September onward, the teams confirmed the pregnancy through weekly hormone tests carried out on samples of Quinta’s feces. The calf was expected in September, but its slightly earlier birth remains within the normal gestation period for the species.

In okapis, gestation lasts between 14 and 16 months. The female generally gives birth to a single calf, weighing around twenty kilos. The newborn is often able to stand about thirty minutes after birth and nurse within the following hour. Quinta’s calf therefore follows the milestones described for the species.

A discreet animal, even when visible to the public

Visitors will be able to glimpse the baby okapi, but sometimes with patience. The teams will decide, depending on Quinta’s behavior, the calf’s behavior and outdoor conditions, whether they remain on the plain or move into the building. In both cases, the young animal may be seen either outside or through the windows of the okapi house.

This discreet behavior is normal in young okapis. In their natural environment, they often remain hidden in vegetation during the first weeks, while their mother returns regularly to nurse them. This strategy reduces the risk of attracting predators. The calf will begin to taste vegetation at around three weeks, then will be weaned between six months and one year.

On the park’s main website, Beauval recalls that the ZooParc opens every day at 9 a.m., with an exceptional opening at 8 a.m. until August 23. The park presents more than 35,000 animals across 24 territories. The okapis can be seen near the elephant plains, where they live alongside yellow-backed duikers.

Quinta also becomes an ambassador for her species

Quinta, the newborn’s mother, is presented as one of the ambassadors for her species among the public. Born on October 30, 2019 at Basel Zoo, she arrived at Beauval in April 2021. Visitors can sponsor her from 20 euros for one year, through a donation to Beauval Nature intended to support biodiversity protection programs.

This birth is also an opportunity to recall the okapi’s situation in the wild. The species is endemic to the tropical forests of central and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. A close cousin of the giraffe, the okapi is classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, under pressure from habitat loss, forest fragmentation, hunting, logging and mining operations, as well as political instability.

Beauval Nature supports a project in the DRC

Beauval Nature supports the Okapi Conservation Project in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, in the heart of the Ituri forest. In 2025, the program notably strengthened the resources of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation with a network of 50 informants tasked with reporting illegal activities, as well as with the deployment of camera traps.

The project also involves local communities. Agroforestry training is offered to farmers, while the MARFO initiative supports nearly 300 women. Conservation messages were also broadcast on 8 community radio stations, and 700 students were reached in three universities. At Beauval, the birth of Quinta and Mambasa’s calf thus becomes a concrete way to talk about a species rarely observed and heavily threatened in its natural habitat.

The news is among the items highlighted by Beauval Actus in August 2026. The news homepage mentions this birth alongside other recent topics devoted to animals and ecology, including World Elephant Day and the name contest for the golden monkey babies.