Female okapi Kitambala gave birth to the Zoo's first okapi calf on February 8, 1962. The little male calf was the fourth okapi born in the United States. Because he was so active from the start, the keepers named him Baruti, which means dynamite in Swahili.

The Zoo was giving thanks a little early when polar bear Frieda gave birth to twins on Thanksgiving eve 1962. The cubs and their mom stayed in the back den until they were ready to make their public appearance on March 11, 1963. The tumbling, playful youngsters, a male and female, were named Karl and Karen and had many fans among Zoo visitors.

A rare species in zoos, three small-toothed palm civets named Wilfred, Hortense, and Horace were donated to the Zoo by Dr. Thomas Williams of the Department of Anthropology at Sacramento State College, who acquired them while on a trip to Borneo.

New at the Zoo in ’62

There were some exciting new animals to see at the Zoo in the early 1960s, including the first okapi born at the Zoo, adorable polar bear twins, and a new, exotic species from Borneo, the small-toothed palm civet.

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1962

Innovation 1957 - 1966

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