2 weeks before World Okapi Day (Oct. 18), Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando announced the birth of a rare okapi | Florida Today

Happy World Okapi Day! Meet Beni, an okapi calf born this summer at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. Beni is named in honor of a town in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the only country where endangered okapis are found. | National Geographic History

Beni, a rare okapi calf in our care, made his savanna debut at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge! 🌟 After spending several months bonding with his mother Olivia backstage, resort guests were among the first to witness Beni's first hoof-steps on the savanna. Beni’s birth is part of the The Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, ensuring the responsible breeding of threatened species in managed care. This also marks a major milestone for Beni’s care team who have worked for months t

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