you enter this new tropical environment in the World-Famous San Diego Zoo's Ituri Forest, a canopy of large ficus trees traps the air below, causing the temperatures to rise and the air to fill with a thick layer of moisture. The sun, sneaking through gaps in the covering, casts shadowed light on the forest floor.

Suddenly, silence is broken by the cracking of a branch nearby. As your eyes adapt to the dim light, you see a group of okapis browsing on acacia. Their velvety, reddish-brown coats and striped markings allow these animals to blend in with their environment and appear as if they've vanished among the dense foliage.  continue...