A rare giraffe zebra hybrid has been born at Chester Zoo, and cameras have captured the adorable new calf venturing outside for the very first time.
Conservationists at the UK’s biggest charity zoo say they are “celebrating” the arrival of a new Okapi calf – which is a “highly endangered” rare animal, also known as the forest giraffe – named Arabi, who was born to mum K’tusha and dad Stomp a couple of months back on 12 May.
Only scientifically discovered in 1901, and often referred to as the ‘forest giraffe’ because the species is only living relative of the long-necked animal, okapis are known for the elusive nature, and live in the dense rainforests of their native Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in central Africa – where it’s estimated that as few as 10,000 could remain.
The species is classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
Zookeepers say they chose to name the newborn Arabi after a village located in the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in the DRC.
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A rare giraffe zebra hybrid has been born at Chester Zoo / Credit: Chester Zoo
Chester Zoo and its partners in the DRC have been working hard to support the last remaining populations of okapi.
Commercial logging, open-cast mining, agriculture, and human settlement has resulted in the loss of the okapi’s habitat in the wild, which conservationists say can limit their access to food and water sources.
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The rare animals are sadly also hunted for their meat, while their skins are highly valued on the illegal wildlife trade.
Of the 14 okapi living in conservation zoos in the UK, six are being cared for by experts at Chester Zoo as part of the endangered species breeding programme.
Arabi’s arrival is a “vital” part of the global population, zookeepers say.
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Since her arrival into the world, Arabi has since been snuggled up in a nest in a behind-the-scenes area at Chester Zoo but now, at just six-weeks-old, the leggy newcomer has decided to kick up her heels and take her first steps following some gentle encouragement from her mum – with the calf’s first steps being captured on camera and shared on social media.
“Since being born just six weeks ago, Arabi has been bonding closely with mum K’tusha while snuggled away in her nest,” explained Hannah Owens – an okapi keeper at Chester Zoo.
“Mum has been doing a fantastic job of feeding and nurturing her calf every day, and now that she has a little more confidence, Arabi decided it was time to explore the outside world.
“It didn’t take long before she was confidently stretching her legs in the sunshine.”
The zoo says the species is ‘highly endangered’ / Credit: Chester Zoo
Giving a little more insight into just how important Arabi’s birth is to her species, Hannah continued: “Okapis are one of the least known and understood species on the planet, so every birth is incredibly special indeed.
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“This energetic little calf is already showing lots of personality.
“It’s going to be a real privilege to watch her grow and become a vital part of the global population of her species.”
Featured Image – Chester Zoo
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‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September 2024 price, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
6th July 2023 
