37K views · 7.5K reactions | Say hello to our newest okapi resident. | San Diego Zoo | Facebook

Okapis have prehensile tongues — meaning their tongues have adapted to grab and grip. These artiodactyl mammals utilize this ability to grab food, wash their eyelids, clean out their ears, and swat insects from their withers. #WildlifeWednesday 🦓 | Science Channel

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