okapi

The okapi has a prehensile tongue that is used to pick tasty leaves. The tongue is so long that the animal uses it to clean its eyes and eyelids.

Ruminant (cud-chewing) mammal related to the giraffe, although with a much shorter neck and legs, found in the tropical rainforests of central Africa. Its purplish brown body, creamy face, and black and white stripes on the legs and hindquarters provide excellent camouflage. Okapis have remained virtually unchanged for millions of years. (Species Okapia johnstoni, family Giraffidae.)

The okapi was unknown to Europeans until 1901; now only a few hundred are thought to survive.