The Zoological Society of London Named Their New Okapi After Meghan Markle

The okapi is a very endangered species.

No doubt a lot of babies born in 2017 and 2018 will be named after future royal Meghan Markle. The one born on December 9, however, is a little different from the others, because she's an okapi, born at the Zoological Society of London.

According to Reuters, the London zoo named its newborn okapi in honor of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding in May. The month-old calf was born to a mother okapi named Oni. “We’re very pleased with how mother and baby are doing," zookeeper Gemma Metcalf told Reuters in a statement. "Oni is being very attentive, making sure she regularly licks her clean and keeping a watchful eye over Meghan as she sleeps."

Although okapi look kind of like zebras because of their black-and-white stripes, these herbivores are actually related to giraffes, USA Today reported. They're native to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and are an extremely endangered species. In fact, their endangered status is part of the reason why (okapi) Meghan got her name. Gemma, the zookeeper, called Meghan's birth "a great opportunity to draw attention to the okapi, which is an extremely endangered species."

Meghan Markle has not commented on the newborn okapi's namesake, but we're sure she's glad to lend her name to such a good cause.

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