As promised, Sukari's keepers wanted to let you all know when she'll be venturing into the exhibit for the first time with mom Safarani. First, though, a little update on her first 25 days. You may recall from previous blogs (see Sukari the Okapi at 3 Weeks) that okapis grow remarkably fast, doubling their birth weight in the first 3 to 4 weeks, tripling it in 8 weeks. Sukari's birth weight was 26.2 kilograms (57.64 pounds). At age 21 days, it was 50.55 kilograms (111.21 pounds). On August 4, at age 25 days, it was up to 56.55 kilograms (124.21 pounds). With our biggest female, Kelle, hovering around 330 kilograms (726 pounds), it would appear that little Sukari will rival Kelle's size in a very short while.

Today, with Safarani munching contentedly on alfalfa hay in the maternity yard, keeper Jama Kasowicz and I walked Sukari all the way up to the exhibit gate where she could see Kelle in the distance. Kelle is extremely food oriented (thus her larger-than-average girth!) and was not interested in making the trip over to see the new addition at the gate. Sukari, true to her calm nature, simply soaked in the new view and when she'd seen enough for the moment, turned around and headed back towards mom. We decided at that point that it was time to set a date for her to see a bigger world than she's known.

The plan is to have Safarani and Sukari venture out into the exhibit for the first time on Thursday, August 9. In all likelihood that first trip will only last a couple of hours for two reasons: Sukari is still in her " nesting" phase, meaning that she spends much time laying down, not expending a lot of energy, and okapi calves do not thermoregulate well (adapt to changes in temperature) for approximately the first 60 days of their life. Even though it's summer here in San Diego, Sukari has been spending most of her time in a climate-controlled barn stall by choice, only occasionally venturing out into the maternity yard. Gradually, we'll give her longer access times to the exhibit, but intially it will only be a couple of hours a day.

As with any of the best-laid plans, the one I mentioned could change at the last minute due to a change in weather, unforeseen medical issues, or anything else that would somehow not be in this youngster's best interests. For those of you who might visit the San Diego Zoo to see Sukari for the first time outside next Thursday, we know you'll enjoy her as much as we do. She's truly a remarkable little lady.

John Michel is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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