News release from the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo:
Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo Celebrates Giraffe tomorrow
(June 18, 2018) – On Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 10 am to 3 pm, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo will highlight the fifth annual “World Giraffe Day” with a family fun educational event. This event will highlight the longest neck animal on the longest day of the year. The event is free with paid admission.
Zoo guests can participate in giraffe-themed games, learn more about the habits of giraffe, their anatomy, why they’re threatened, what it takes to care for world’s tallest land animals and even become a giraffe in our special Snapchat filter.
“World Giraffe Day is a great time to celebrate our giraffe and share how we can all help giraffe in the wild. We are lucky enough to have a very successful breeding and conservation program for giraffe. We have 3 generations of giraffe ambassadors here at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo. Zuri and Jelani are the parents of Zahra, and Zahra and Ezeji are the parents of Kita. This is all due to the fact that our giraffe facility is large enough to have 2 breeding bulls,” said zookeeper, Ashley Bean.
For years giraffe have silently been facing extinction. World Giraffe Day is vital to protecting giraffe and preventing their extinction. Giraffe are currently classified as vulnerable, and face many threats to their survival. World Giraffe Day was started in 2013 by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. It is not only a worldwide celebration of the beloved species, but an annual event to raise support, create awareness, and spur change for giraffe in the wild.
Join us, Thursday, June 21 from 10 am to 3 pm to celebrate and learn more about our amazing giraffe ambassadors here at the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo.
About the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is northeast Indiana’s largest tourist attraction, hosting more than 600,000 guests annually. The zoo was voted Indiana’s #1 “Gotta-Do Summer Attraction” and is consistently named one of the nation’s Top Ten Zoos for Kids by national media outlets.
The Zoo is a conservation leader, contributing more than $250,000 annually to local, regional, and international efforts to protect wild animals and habitats. The Zoo cares for more than 1200 animals and participating in 63 cooperative species survival plans.
As a self-supporting facility, the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo receives no tax dollars for operations. The zoo’s operations are funded entirely by earned revenue and donations. Zoo opens daily at 9 am. The Zoo Comes Alive After 5 – now open until 7 pm.
The Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo is located at 3411 Sherman Boulevard Fort Wayne, IN 46808 P: 260-427-6800 F: 260-427-6820 www.kidszoo.org
About Giraffe Conservation Foundation
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation, a conservation partner of the Fort Wayne Children’s Zoo, is excited to announce that World Giraffe Day – 21 June 2018 – is dedicated to Operation Twiga III, the third dedicated giraffe conservation translocation of Nubian (formerly Rothschild’s) giraffe in Uganda. Giraffe are listed as Vulnerable to extinction on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Giraffe numbers in Africa have plummeted by a staggering 40% over the last 30 years. We estimate today that there are fewer than 100,000 giraffe remaining in all of Africa. For more information visit https://giraffeconservation.org/programmes/giraffe-conservation-status/
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