After a 440-day gestation period, female okapis retreat into dense forest vegetation to give birth to a single newborn calf weighing 14-20 kg.
Courtship of females okapi by males is unobtrusive and cautious. Okapi partners begin courtship by circling, sniffing, and licking each other. Eventually, the male asserts his dominance by extending his neck, tossing his head, and thrusting one leg foreward. This display is followed by mounting and copulation. After mating, the male and female part ways.
The okapi gestation period lasts about 440 days, and females retreat into dense forest vegetation to give birth. Newborn okapi calves weigh 14-30 kilograms at birth.
Sources: (Bodmer & Rabb, 1992; Grzimek 1990; Palkovacs, 2000; San Diego Zoo Global, 2017)
Image: Amy the Nurse
