South Bend zoo gets 2 okapi, short relatives of the giraffe

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - A northern Indiana zoo is set to become the first in the state to exhibit an endangered African species that's a relative of the giraffe.

South Bend's Potawatomi (pot-ah-WAH'-toh-mee) Zoo recently acquired two okapi (oh-KAHP'-ee) from Chicago's Brookfield Zoo. They're expected to go on display later this month.

Both are males standing about 5 feet tall. They're related to the giraffe but sport shorter necks, similar long ears and a long tongue.

Zoo executive director Marcy Dean calls 4-year-old Corky and 2-year-old Will "the boys" and says zoo staffers are enamored with them.

Dean tells The South Bend Tribune (http://bit.ly/2qFSBrG ) the okapi are a coup for the zoo because no other zoo in Indiana or Michigan has them.

She says only about 20 to 25 other U.S. zoos exhibit okapi.

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Information from: South Bend Tribune, http://www.southbendtribune.com