Rare — and adorable — baby okapi born at Houston Zoo

The Houston Zoo is celebrating a first: The birth of a healthy, rare baby okapi.

The yet-to-be-named male was born Nov. 6, tipping the scales at 40 pounds. The baby's mother, Tulia, is relishing her role as a mother, the Houston Chronicle reports, and he is thriving. "The pair will continue to bond behind the scenes for the next several weeks," the zoo said in a statement. "This is the first successful birth of a baby okapi at the zoo."

Okapis are the only living relative of the giraffe, with large, upright ears and long tongues. They are native to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and because they have such highly developed hearing, they were able to outrun scientists, who didn't discover the okapi until 1900. --Catherine Garcia

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