32K reactions · 5.6K shares | The beautiful and endangered okapi is...

43K views · 3.7K reactions | Okapi that, it's Okapi Day! Weighing in at just 48 pounds at birth, Mpangi is now 430 pounds of precious. Though the species has been protected since 1933, okapis are endangered. You can help save this incredible species by recycling old cell phones and donating at www.endextinction.org | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | Facebook

Baby okapi explores new enclosure in Texas zoo

With a tongue that can extend up to 18 inches (45 cm), the okapi uses this remarkable adaptation to skillfully strip leaves, buds, and fruit from the understory trees of the Congo Basin. Their diet, rich in over 100 plant species, helps shape the forest’s biodiversity—an unsung but vital ecological role. Often mistaken as relatives of zebras due to their stripes, okapis are actually the only living relative of the giraffe. Yet unlike their towering cousins, these secretive animals are found sole