Zoo Welcomes Kalispell, Rare Okapi

The Denver Zoo is celebrating the birth of a rare okapi. The female calf has been named Kalispell.

Okapis look like a cross between zebras and giraffes. In fact, they are the only living relative to the giraffe.

The calf was born on June 27. And she is only the fifth birth of this species at the zoo.

Kalispell will stay behind the scenes for a little while longer, but visitors will soon be able to see the youngster.

Okapis have long necks, reddish bodies and black-and-white striped legs. Their purple tongues are about 12 inches long and are used to grab and hold food.

The survival of wild okapis, native to the dense Ituri Forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is threatened by volatile political and military conditions, according to the zoo .