A BABY okapi, one of the rarest animals in captivity, has been born at a wildlife in Easter Compton.

Ruby the calf was born at the Wild Place Project seven days ago, and is being hailed as a huge boost to the breeding of the rare species, as she is only one of 14 okapi in the UK.

But it was not all easy as an expert team of vets had to intervene when complications arose when Ruby’s mother went into labour.

Her arrival, which was caught on camera by keepers, took around two hours after she was positioned backwards, with her legs protruding, one of which becoming stuck at the joint.

Ruby weighed around 14kg at birth and has similar features to her parents Rubani and Kibibi, with a brown and white striped rump with a deep reddish brown velvety coat on her body.

“This is Kibibi’s second calf, but thankfully this one has a much more positive story,” said Nigel Simpson, head of operations at Wild Place Project.

“Kibibi’s first baby was premature in 2014 and unfortunately the baby was too underdeveloped to survive.

“With this in mind it is great to see that Kibibi has taken to mothering Ruby so brilliantly. After the vets assisted with moving one of Ruby’s legs she was delivered within around two minutes.

“She was then placed into a stable and Kibibi was immediately given access and started licking her little newborn.”

He added added: “Ruby was very active and stood up after an hour and first suckled about 45 minutes after that. She will suckle until six months old and will then be weaned onto pellet, spring greens and sugar beet.”

Okapi were moved from Bristol Zoo Gardens to Wild Place Project when it opened in 2013 and a total of 40 calves have been born at both sites.

Nigel said: “The active role that we have taken in the international breeding and conservation programme to increase okapi numbers and raise awareness of the threats is an important demonstration of the role of modern wildlife parks and zoos in active conservation.”

Although Ruby will be spending most of her time inside her stable, visitors to the project might catch a glimpse of her venturing outside over the forthcoming weeks.