By:SUSAN LIN
Animals look forward to the sunshine and lots of onlookers.
Finding a book on the general care, nutrition or behavior of dogs would be simple. But to locate a similar volume on taking care of Okapi, a relative of the giraffe from the Ituri Forest in Zaire, would likely be more difficult. Somehow, though, the Bronx Zoo has learned how to do it.
"We go on our own experience with that species, or the experience of other zoo people," said Jim Doherty, general curator of wildlife at the Bronx Zoo, which has husbanded Okapi periodically since the 1950s. Doherty also looks after the approximately 4,000 exotic species, those from outside North America, currently residing at the zoo.
During "very cold weather," where New York winters fall, the Okapi stay indoors, where it's about 72 degrees, said Doherty. "When it starts to get warm, they can go outside."
Doherty has a way of determining if the Okapi enjoy living at the zoo. For example, "If they were cold, they'd shiver. They'd look uncomfortable and probably wouldn't be interested in eating," he said.
This year, the white-striped, horse-sized Okapi will see fresh air in late April, which is also when visitors to the zoo will be able to view them.
Once out of their winter coop, the six Okapi at the Bronx Zoo have the run of a natural preserve, which is demarcated by an 8-foot-wide and 5-foot-deep dry moat. "We've been fortunate in that they've never jumped the moat," said Doherty. "If they do, we'd be in trouble."
A wire fence also runs along the moat's perimeter, but that serves as much to keep the beasts from escaping, as people from falling into the ditch.
Along with the Okapi, the 265-acre zoo is home to other rare species, including several red pandas, which look like red raccoons; Scarlet Ibis birds, known for their 8-inch-long curved beak, as well as 13 snow leopards.
"These leopards are very shy. People in Asia rarely see them. They live right around them, and they don't even know they're there," said Doherty.
Distinguished by their long, pale gray coats and bushy tail, snow leopards are found only in the Himalayan Mountains, according to Doherty. "For where they're from, their coat provides good insulation."
At the zoo, the leopards live in what the staff refers to as a "large aviary." They call the enclosure, which is situated on a natural hillside, a birdhouse because it has a top, made of wire mesh, and is 40 feet off the ground. "They're good jumpers," said Doherty.
Although many animals at the zoo are native to other parts of the world, Doherty pointed out that "it's very rare for us to take animals in from the wild." In fact, 97 percent of the animals, he said, were either born on the premises or at another zoo. And that includes even the 13 snow leopards and six Okapi.
"In large part, our efforts are toward the maintenance of endangered species," said Doherty. The Bronx Zoo, which is owned by the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society, is trying to prevent the extinction of the snow leopard and Okapi, as well as the gorilla, Asian elephant and Indian rhinoceros.
Alongside its rare animals, the Bronx Zoo is also home to popular animals that people "usually know something about," said Doherty. He cites the zoo's giraffes, monkeys, sea lions, llamas and African lions, which look like a "typical lion."
Even caring for a common elephant, though, is something Doherty said he learned on the job. "Sometimes it's hard to mix elephants," he said. Because they are very social creatures, adding one to the existing population is a complicated affair.
"If we want to add a single elephant, we have to bring in a couple," said Doherty. "We'd want one that would get along with our other elephants." Like dogs and chickens, elephants establish a hierarchical order in the pack, and one would not want, say, two extremely dominant ones living together, said Doherty.
The upside with common animals, other than their storybook charm, is that visitors can pet some of the domesticated ones, such as the sheep, goats and llamas. "But nothing else," said Doherty. "The last thing we want is people to forget that we have wild animals here."
Doherty considers himself "one of the fortunate people" to be in a position of working with the variety of animals at the Bronx Zoo. "It could be a giraffe, a gorilla, a mouse or a bat. I'm someone that is interested in almost any animal," he said.
The Bronx Zoo
Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road
(718) 367-1010; www.wcs.org
Hours from April to October:
10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; weekends to 5:30 p.m.
Admission: $9 adults; $5 seniors/children under 12
Parking: $7 per car
