You can help wild okapi populations just by recycling your old phone! The Sacramento Zoo has partnered with Ecocell to recycle old phones, phone accessories, mp3 players, cords, digital cameras, and airpods. Recycling these materials allows for minerals inside, such as coltan, to be reused. These minerals are mined from the rainforests wild okapi call home, and reusing these materials reduces the need for mining in these areas. Drop your old device into the donation bin near the Member and Visit

With a tongue that can extend up to 18 inches (45 cm), the okapi uses this remarkable adaptation to skillfully strip leaves, buds, and fruit from the understory trees of the Congo Basin. Their diet, rich in over 100 plant species, helps shape the forest’s biodiversity—an unsung but vital ecological role. Often mistaken as relatives of zebras due to their stripes, okapis are actually the only living relative of the giraffe. Yet unlike their towering cousins, these secretive animals are found sole