Zoo shows off okapi named after Meghan Markle

LONDON -- The London Zoo is showing off a baby okapi it named after royal bride-to-be Meghan Markle.

The zoo released video of the okapi, born in December and named after Markle in January.

“The okapi was the first animal to be born at London Zoo since the announcement of the royal engagement and we named her after Meghan as a mark of respect for the occasion,” a London Zoo official told ABC News. “A new birth is always cause for celebration, but Meghan’s important arrival is also a great opportunity to draw attention to the okapi, which is an extremely endangered species.”

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An approximately three-month-old spider monkey infant cuddles with its mother at the nature reserve Bioparque Wakata, near Bogota, Colombia, June 21, 2023.

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Okapis originate from the Democratic Republic of Congo and are also known as forest giraffes. They are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as endangered.