World Giraffe Day – History, and Celebrations
World Giraffe Day: You may have seen a giraffe in a zoo. Did you like this animal? Isn’t it an amazing animal? The giraffe is a prominent and active member of the animal kingdom. It is a wonderful and incredible-looking animal with a long neck, sleek legs, and beautiful spots on its body.
Over the past few years, wildlife conservationists have observed that the number of giraffes gradually decreases. Loss of native habitat, poaching, and an increase in human settlements are the main reasons. This species is in danger. Therefore “World Giraffe Day” came into existence to protect giraffes and their habitats worldwide.
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World Giraffe Day History
World Giraffe Day was started by Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) to raise awareness about the protection of this amazing animal. The day was dedicated to the quirky creatures, i.e., giraffes worldwide.
In 2016, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the status of giraffes was changed to “least concern to vulnerable”. The number of giraffes dropped by 36-40% from between 151,702-163,452 in 1985 to 97,562 in 2015. A significant decline has also been observed in the Masai giraffe, one of the nine subspecies.
The extinction of giraffes will be a significant loss for the wildlife. Not only as it’s a friendly animal but as it is an inspiration for everyone. Its fabulous appearance, muscular body, and how it survives in wildlife inspire everyone to be strong in every situation.
“To understand more about the importance of protecting these majestic giraffes, check out why wildlife conservation is important.”
Hence, GCF took the initiative to celebrate World Giraffe Day on the 21st of June every year. GCF has many partners worldwide that are committed to protecting this majestic creature. They organize various activities and events worldwide dedicated to this creature.
World Giraffe Day 2014
In 2014, Giraffe Conservation Foundation celebrated World Giraffe Day for the first time to raise awareness about this beautifully printed animal. GCF chooses the longest day of the year, i.e., 21st June, to celebrate the day. As 21st June is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, similarly, this day denotes the long-necked tallest land animal worldwide.
To promote this event worldwide and for fund-raising various activities were organized by GCF, such as:
Julian Fennessy hosted a talk on giraffe conservation in Africa. “Jeans4Giraffe” to raise awareness about the protection of giraffes. It was easy to participate in this activity. Just wear jeans or any casual cloth (if possible, having a giraffe pattern) and collect funds on behalf of Nambian giraffes.
World Giraffe Day 2015
In 2015, GCF launched a targeted fund-raising campaign named “Operation Twiga.” This campaign was initiated to save the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe in the wild. However, Operation Twiga was put into action next year, i.e., in January 2016.
Blair Drummond Safari Park has also planned a complete weekend celebration on this WGD-themed with various activities and competitions dedicated to giraffes. All the visitors enjoyed being a part of these activities and competitions a lot. Along with this, funds were also raised to contribute to GCF’s giraffe conservation efforts.
“World Giraffe Day also emphasizes on forest conservation because giraffes are a part of this whole ecosystem and this is why we need to preserve these habitats.”
World Giraffe Day 2016
The theme in 2016 was “Putting people at the center of giraffe conservation.” GCF was very excited to launch its new campaign for the first time, which was a photo competition.
The main objective of organizing a photo competition was to raise awareness about giraffe conservation. The participants had to click stunning photographs of giraffes and need to upload them before 22nd June 2016. The winner was announced to get one of two GCF merchandise packs.
“The World Giraffe Day also reminds us to consider animal welfare and follow important guidelines.”
World Giraffe Day 2017
In 2017, the Masai giraffe in Southern Kenya and Tanzania was the event’s main focus. GCF was raising funds to help Masai giraffe conservation in collaboration with local and regional partners in East Africa. Some of the leading programs of the World Giraffe Day celebration included:
Collar Masai giraffe with GPS satellite solar unit to understand them in a better way with the help of remote tracking.
To facilitate the local rangers to supervise the survey and to look after poaching activities of Masai giraffe (if any)
Generate an African-wide giraffe database to help wildlife conservationists, researchers, etc., to analyze the distribution and ecology of this long-necked animal.
Along with this, the day was celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm in other parts across the world, such as Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden (United States), Folly Farm (United Kingdom), etc.
“Giraffe live in grassland areas. Check here for complete details about savanna grassland ecosystem.”
World Giraffe Day 2018
In 2018, Montgomery Zoo and Mann Museum initiated the celebrations of World Giraffe Day for the first time. This year, Montgomery Zoo succeeded in contributing $500, helping the giraffe conservation in wildlife.
Naples Zoo also celebrated the worldwide event on the 16th of June this year. There were many activities such as a special giraffe “Meet the Keeper” talk, trained volunteers to conduct education stations about giraffe conservation, etc. The guests also had an opportunity to buy the cut-outs of giraffes for $1 as a donation for giraffe conservation.
World Giraffe Day 2019
World Giraffe Day (WGD) 2019 was dedicated to Twiga Tracker. Twiga tracker is the most gigantic giraffe GPS satellite tracking program used in Africa. Twiga tracker aimed to track a minimum of 250 giraffes within their range using innovative GPS satellite solar units.
GCF has a partnership with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and San Diego Zoo Global. Twiga Tracker was a collaboration between these organizations. The tracker estimated that there were approximately only 111,000 giraffes left across Africa.
On the other hand, Montgomery Zoo put more effort into elevating the fund up to $1,000 to preserve the giraffes in the wild.
“World Giraffe Day is also an opportunity to learn about the difference between animal rights and animal welfare, which are key to protecting giraffes and other species.”
World Giraffe Day 2020
Montgomery Zoo and Mann Wildlife Museum, United States, were organizing the celebrations of World Giraffe Day on the 20th of June 2020. The event was held to provide a unique giraffe experience to the guests and raise funds for the conservation of giraffes in wildlife.
This year (2020), Montgomery Zoo hoped to contribute up to $2,000 to cooperate in giraffe conservation.
Apart from this, many schools, NGOs, Govt. institutions, Zoos, companies, and conservation organizations, also hosted different events to support the day worldwide on the 21st of June 2020.
World Giraffe Day (WGD) 2020 was committed to Operation Twiga V, the next giraffe conservation translocation to Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve in Uganda. It was expected to reach the fundraising goal of US$250,000 last year on WGD to secure the future of the endangered Nubian giraffe.
World Giraffe Day 2020 went digital due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) launched a social media challenge, “Show Us How You #StandTallForGiraffe with GCF-Literally!” to celebrate the global event.
People were supposed to take fun pictures of themselves with family, friends, or colleagues standing tall in this social media event. They could also take giraffe-inspired photographs like Bake a Cake, Paint Something, etc.
People were supposed to post the pictures on social media and then;
- Tag GCF on social media:
- Facebook: @giraffeconservationfoundation
- Instagram: @giraffe_conservation
- Twitter: @save_giraffe
Use any of below hashtags for your post to help spread the message:
- #WorldGiraffeDay
- #GiraffeConservationFoundation
- #OperationTwiga5
- #WorldGiraffeDay2020
- #StickYourNeckOutForGiraffe
- #StandTallForGiraffe
Remember, main goal was to raise awareness among people.
World Giraffe Day 2021
On 21st June 2021, several individuals and organizations took action towards conserving the longest neck animal – the Giraffe.
National Geography has celebrated the day by sharing a fact with a clip about Giraffes.
Sheldrick Wildlife Organization raised awareness about the population of giraffes, which has decreased by 30% decrease since 1980.
On the other hand, the Born Free Foundation has observed the day by asking if giraffes are made for the wild or in zoos. And to bring any change, they took the step of raising funds.
The Animal Advocate organization has raised awareness to ban hunting by shouting to the UN through the hashtag #bantrophyhunting.
IUCN-Rwanda shared a fantastic fact about giraffes: they spend most of their life standing, including sleeping and giving birth. And it’s their way to celebrate World Giraffe Day.
Further, different Zoos worldwide have also celebrated the occasion by sharing magnificent pictures of our tallest animal. The celebration was made on the individual and organizational levels by shouting out on social media, signing petitions, and adopting the animals for their welfare.
Besides, the Giraffe Conservation Foundation is working towards raising funds for the Twiga tracker and giraffe spotter, which can help us understand our Giraffe friends better through machine learning.
World Giraffe Day 2022
It was around the event day, and we needed to make a conscious choice towards conserving our loving giraffes.
Giraffe Conservation Organization had created a World Giraffe Day Resource Page to make it easier for us. You or your organization could take inspiration to contribute to the efforts.
As per that, you could celebrate World Giraffe Day 2022 by using the hashtag #standtallforgiraffe.
Further, there was an initiative by Giraffe Conservation Organization to bring the habitat back. The years-long civil fight was the primary cause of giraffe extinction in Mozambique, and only 250 giraffes were left there. So, for the conservation of giraffes in that country, the Giraffe Conservation Organization was about to translocate 350 giraffes to four major conservation areas of the country. World Giraffe Day 2022 was specially dedicated to this event, and a small donation from enlightened souls worldwide could make this possible.
Further, another good news came that would motivate the conservation initiatives. There was a 20% rise in giraffe numbers in Africa. The Giraffe Conservation Organization had shared this good news at the end of 2021.
Regularly, the organization was working to raise the fund of $250K to go forward with translocating the giraffes to Mozambique. Further, on 13th March, GCF shared the good news of 12 successful giraffe translocations; this was indeed a significant effort toward celebrating World Giraffe Day 2022.
Also, GCF had supported a range of committee meetings to provide a common platform for all the stakeholders to share experiences and track progress. It helped our goals towards the recovery action of Masai, Nubian, and Reticulated giraffes.
Several other restoration efforts were going on worldwide to save the habitats of different giraffe species, which otherwise faced extinction. We, on individual levels, could contribute through shouting on social media or taking part in several activities on World Giraffe Day 2022.
World Giraffe Day 2023
Several events were organized worldwide to celebrate and raise awareness for giraffe conservation on World Giraffe Day 2023:
There was a giraffe feeding experience at The NEW Zoo & Adventure Park, along with kids’ games, crafts, face painting, and a coloring contest. These activities raised money for Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
There were giraffe crafts, educational talks, and competitions at Chester Zoo. There were activities included in the zoo admission that taught visitors about giraffes and conservation.
The London Zoo had giraffe keeper Q&A sessions, educational activities, and competitions. Guests could win prizes and get free giraffe pin badges. The event helped the zoo’s conservation work in Africa.
A newly born giraffe calf was named “Fenn” by the “North Carolina Zoo” after public voting. Also, the zoo did various educational events about giraffes.
These events raised awareness of giraffe conservation and provided the public with an opportunity to get involved.
World Giraffe Day 2024
To raise awareness and support giraffe conservation, World Giraffe Day 2024 will involve a lot of fun events and initiatives:
Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF): Giraffe conservation continues through the GCF’s activities and campaigns. In Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and Uganda, they’re rewilding giraffes in their historical habitats. #WorldGiraffeDay2024 and #StandTallForGiraffe are some of the hashtags the GCF is using on social media.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (CMZoo): As part of World Giraffe Day, CMZoo is improving the habitat in their African Rift Valley exhibit. Giraffe conservation can be supported through the Zoo’s Quarters for Conservation (Q4C) program, which has also funded anti-poaching efforts and new veterinary vehicles for the GCF. Also, the zoo holds workshops on giraffe care and behavior to improve their well-being.
San Antonio Zoo: On June 21st, the San Antonio Zoo is offering discounted admission to Bexar County residents to celebrate World Giraffe Day. Visitors will learn about giraffe conservation and how they can help.
How Can We Celebrate World Giraffe Day?
Are you concerned about the long-necked creature? You can contribute your efforts to protect this beautiful animal. Take the initiative and celebrate World Giraffe Day on 21st June.
- You can participate in the activities organized to celebrate the day, such as face-painting like a giraffe’s spots, etc.
- You can visit a zoo to get more information about giraffes. Some zoos allow their visitors to meet with giraffe experts to learn more about lifestyle (both in captivity and wildlife).
- Some zoos also participate in fund-raising and observance of this animal on World Giraffe Day. If you wish, you can also be a participant and play your role in this activity.
- You can initiate small donations (if you want to) to save the population of giraffes across the world. Even a small contribution will be worth a lot.
- Raising awareness is an excellent idea to contribute to World Giraffe Day celebrations. You can get involved with schools, colleges, NGOs, conservation organizations, etc., and engage the community to understand the plight of giraffes.
- Social media is an excellent platform to raise awareness about giraffes. You can raise the issue on social media via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., to make people aware of the condition of this animal.
- If you think you are a good artist, you can make some paintings to spread a message about the conservation of giraffes. Then share these paintings on social media to grab the visitors’ attention.
- If you are a parent, you can encourage your children to write an essay on giraffes to check their knowledge of this beautiful animal and global event.
- If you can express your feelings through writing, you can try your writing skills afterward. Write an article on giraffe conservation and post it so that people can understand the risk factors involved with this species.
The giraffe is a beautiful animal that needs concern for its protection. Come forward this World Giraffe Day and contribute your valuable effort to save such a fantastic animal from the threat to become extinction.