The Blind Site

In another part of the Pangani Forest, visitors come across an observation blind, a camouflaged site built to allow researchers to observe forest animals without disturbing them. If you're super quiet, you might just spot one of the rarest creatures of all, an okapi.

The okapi, a relative of the giraffe, is native to the Ituri Forest region of Zaire in Central Africa. So what are they doing in Harambe? Inspection of the details on this board in the observation blind gives us some clues.

This newspaper clipping reveals that three okapis were transplanted to Harambe from Zaire as part of an effort to establish a viable East African population. In their native land, okapis are threatened by habitat destruction and civil unrest. The Harambe Wildlife Reserve can potentially offer a safer environment for them.

The board also includes a letter to Pangani's Dr. Kulunda from the head of the (fictional) Ituri Okapi Project, Igwe Olugu. Olugu's letter gives Dr. Kulunda (and us) some additional information about okapi diet and behavior.

Two researchers working with Olugu on the Okapi Project are spending time in Harambe, observing how the okapis are adapting to their new environment. Apti, a native of Kenya, and Omari, a Harambean, have been documenting everything they've seen. Their notes and photos can be seen in the field note clipboards found in the blind.

For those wishing to learn more about the okapi, plan to attend Dr. Kulunda's lecture on the subject this Sunday. He'll be sharing slides of okapis taken in the Ituri Forest and discussing everything from their rump patterns to the evolutionary divergence between okapis and giraffes. The lecture will be held in the Research Centre. As the flier states, "Prayers for the generator are highly encouraged!"

Pieced together, all of this tells a fantastically detailed story and adds to the overall fabric of the storytelling environment on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail attraction.

The real story as to why there are okapis at Disney's Animal Kingdom is actually somewhat similar. The inclusion of the animals came at the suggestion of Rick Barongi, former Director of Disney's Animal Programs. Barongi had previously been Curator of Mammals for the San Diego Zoo, where he had done extensive work on okapi conservation. When he joined Disney as part of the park's first Advisory Board, he had a passion for establishing a population of okapis here and arranged for animals to be sent to Florida from San Diego.

Today, Rick Barongi is Director of the Houston Zoological Gardens, where he has established yet another population of okapis. As an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Disney's Animal Kingdom works in cooperation with the teams in Houston, San Diego and around the world to ensure the future survival of okapis and other endangered species.