Bronx Zoo

Meet the okapi, the only living relative of giraffes! These shy, elusive animals—often called “forest giraffes”—are native to the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their striped markings help provide camouflage in the filtered light of the dense forest. Their large, upright ears give them exceptionally acute hearing, helping them detect even the slightest sounds and to stay alert to leopards and other potential predators. Observe these beautiful and unique animals in the Congo Gorilla Forest!

📷 : WCS Photographer, Terria Clay

🥺Still little, but at six months old, look how much our baby pygmy slow loris has grown! To give the pygmy slow lorises overnight foraging opportunities, the keepers place food in small containers, including paper cups that the lorises can tear open as they search for food. Their diet includes bugs, primate chow, and vegetables.

Pygmy slow lorises typically reach their full adult weight and size by approximately 1.5 years old, depending on their s*x. Maturity is reached at 18 months in males and 16 months in females. Even when they are fully grown, these small primates measure only about 6-10 inches in length and weigh between 350-500 grams.

📷: Keeper Brooke

ICYMI, we recently announced the birth of this rare Przewalski’s horse foal. Przewalski’s horses are the only truly wild horses left in the world. The wild horses found in other parts of the world, including the plains of North America and the East Coast barrier islands, started out as domestic horses that escaped from farms and ranches and became feral. Przewalski’s horses have never been domesticated. Before going extinct in the wild, Przewalski’s horses were last found on the Mongolian steppes of the Gobi desert, where average high and low temperatures can range from well over 100F in summer to more than -40 in winter. The Bronx Zoo participates in the conservation of Przewalski's horses through zoo breeding programs aimed at maintaining genetic diversity and supports Protected Areas where zoo born animals were first reintroduced in 1992. Look for the foal the next time you ride on the Wild Asia Monorail.

📷 : WCS Photographer, Terria Clay

Against the lush green of the tiger habitat at the Wild Asia Monorail, you can easily spot the tiger with its striking orange and black striped coat, right? But a tiger’s prey, deer and antelope, don't see colors the same as people. They see greens and blues, but, orange and red appear as muted gray. This, coupled with the tiger’s stripes, enables the big cats to blend into the foliage and remain hidden while they stalk their prey. While tigers have the advantage with color, their prey have superior night vision and ability to detect movement, so they have a chance to escape when a tiger moves. Come and see the tigers on the Wild Asia Monorail and at Tiger Mountain next time you visit and learn about our work to protect them in the wild.

📷 : WCS Photographer, Terria Clay