Toby is the perfect okapi of Subira With their velvet fur, long tongues and striped backends, okapis may look like they're made from leftover parts, but each of their characteristics plays a part in their wild habitats. The stripes camouflage them from predators, their oily fur keeps them dry in the rainforest and their long tongues help them reach the best leaves. | San Diego 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