Have You Ever Seen An Okapi ???

This baby was recently born at the Denver Zoo — she’s an Okapi named Kalispell. (Collective “awww.”) Not only is she absolutely adoro, she’s a mix of two unlikely species. Learn all about this rare animal .Originally a cross between zebras and giraffes, the Okapi (oh-COP-ee) was only known by natives of the Ituri Forest until officially “discovered” by scientists about 100 years ago in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It’s actually the only living relative of the giraffe.Those spindly legs and over sized ears remind me of a giraffe where those stripes have zebra written all over them! It’s not known how many exist in the wild (probably about 25,000 in the wild), but there are only 89 currently alive in captivity.

She’s currently gaining strength and stability with those spindly legs indoors. In the wild, they are browsers, eating 40 to 65 pounds of leaves, twigs, and fruits each day but, in captivity, usually dine on alfalfa hay, leafy acacia branches, and healthy veggies. Zookeepers are carefully monitoring Kalispell’s progress as she becomes more self-sufficient and predict her public zoo debut soon!

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Pets Hit the Catwalk

They’re fierce! Trendy dogs and cats take to the runway in Moscow’s first-ever Pet Fashion Week

Flower power
How does your garden grow? A sweet Yorkie puts its best face forward with a pink orchid-adorned headdress.

All aboard!
This Pomeranian is on the right track with a cute conductor’s hat and edgy dog-and-crossbones shoes.

Anchors aweigh
Ahoy, matey! Donning a striped sailor’s shirt and adorable matching cap, this little dog looks ready to hit the high seas.

Cat in a hat
Me-wow! A hairless cat is all dressed up – with someplace to go – in a dainty daisy-adorned gingham hat.

Tutu cute
This pint-sized pooch is feeling blue with a frothy tutu and blinged-out collar and belt.

Mystery solved
All that’s missing in this Chihuahua’s trench-like ensemble is a pipe, houndstooth hat and a sidekick named Watson. Case closed!

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Putty In Their Paws: Why We Do What Cats Want

Cats domesticated themselves ages ago so that people would take care of them and have honed the pitch of their meows to a point where people can’t ignore them, say a pair of recent studies.

Tamara Fox goes to extremes for her cats that she wouldn’t dream of for even her best friend.
“I clean their butts when necessary,” she says of 10-year-old Emma, a lilac-point Siamese mix, and 15-year-old Brianne, a chocolate seal-point Himalayan. “I wouldn’t do that for anyone else.”
Dena Harris of Madison, N.C., endures a daily slapping around by her 8-year-old cat, Olivia, who taps her on the shoulder early each morning until she gets up and feeds her.

And Cecile Moore put up with acts of extortion from her cat Henry who regularly sat on the top of the bureau of her Athens, Ga., home and scooted a bottle of perfume toward the edge until she got out of bed.
While we’d never tolerate that behavior from a house guest — or even our own kids — we take it from cats, along with their extreme independence and their refusal to show affection except on their own terms and frequent shedding. Our relationship is based on us giving and them taking — kind of like a bad boyfriend. And yet, we adore, feed and house them, and we constantly try to please them in a hopelessly co-dependent kind of way. What does that say about us?

Armadillo Orphan Get A Second Chance At Life

Activist Kamilo Lara has made some young armadillos very happy. Born just a few days ago, the orphaned siblings — whose mother was killed by poachers — have gotten a second chance at life after Lara learned there was no room at the local zoo and decided to raise them himself at his home in Managua, Nicaragua. And he’s been feeding them milk formula from a little dropper, with the little guys lapping it up with their tiny, pointy tongues, Sky News reports.
It might seem strange to see a scaly creature drinking milk, but armadillos are indeed mammals. Armadillo moms always have four identical quadruplets, so their new dad must have a heck of a time telling these babies apart!

Lara, who plans to return his adopted armadillos to the wild in a couple of months when they’re big enough, is also working on restoring habitat for armadillos and wants to open a wildlife center. Who poaches armadillos and why? It’s not clear. Maybe they’d stop if they’d see these sweet, adorable babies.

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