World Giraffe Day might not be until Wednesday, June 21, but Animal Adventure Park wants to celebrate it early, and in a joint celebration with Father’s Day. And why not — although April the giraffe was at the center of reports as she prepared to give birth to Tajiri, the calf also had a rather “prominent” father in Oliver, April’s much younger “baby daddy.”
According to the official website of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, World Giraffe Day is a yearly event organized by the foundation, and always taking place on the longest day or night of the year, depending on which hemisphere you’re from. The GCF describes the event as a “worldwide celebration” that seeks to raise awareness of giraffe-related issues and encourage support while making people cognizant of the fact that there are only 100,000 giraffes in the wild.
The GCF’s website also emphasizes that giraffes are currently listed as a “vulnerable” species and have lost a good percentage of their number over the last three decades, with Masai giraffes especially affected.
“Giraffe numbers in Africa have plummeted by a staggering 40 percent over the last 30 years. We estimate today that there are only less than 100,000 giraffe remaining in all of Africa.”
Meanwhile, over in Harpursville, N.Y., things have been relatively quiet as of late at Animal Adventure Park. It’s been two months since April the giraffe gave birth to her calf, Tajiri, and while the fanfare has died down, people are still keen on finding out the latest on April, Taj, and April’s partner Oliver. But with two important days in June approaching, AAP has something that may be of interest to those who paid close attention to April the giraffe as she prepared to give birth.
Taj is measuring over 6’6″ Tall and well over 200 lbs at this time! We hope to see you soon on the giraffe encounter deck! pic.twitter.com/hxgl6Hm0lA
— Animal Adventure Park (@AnimalAdvPark) May 30, 2017
In a Facebook post from earlier this morning, Animal Adventure Park announced its plans for both World Giraffe Day and Father’s Day, both of which will be celebrated on Sunday through a number of activities and promotions. For starters, the first 50 fathers who visit AAP during the dual celebration will get a free pulled pork barbecue lunch, with the meal priced at “$8 for others until it’s gone.” The event also promises African drum circles, as well as “special treats” for April, Oliver, Taj, and the park’s other giraffes at noon.
As Animal Adventure Park still has Toys ‘R’ Us as its top sponsor, the two companies will be teaming up during the World Giraffe Day/Father’s Day event to host a giraffe Lego station where children can “make and take a Lego giraffe” from Toys ‘R’ Us. AAP is also selling its giraffe plushes and other toys at a 10 percent discount as part of tomorrow’s event.
Since 1999, 50% of giraffe populations have been lost. Learn how you can make a difference this weekend as we celebrate #WorldGiraffeDay ! pic.twitter.com/ftM09PLhPO
— San Francisco Zoo (@sfzoo) June 17, 2017
As the weather is good in Harpursville, per Animal Adventure Park’s Facebook post, it appears to be all systems go for the dual celebration. That also means a great chance for people to see America’s most famous giraffe family – April, Oliver, and Tajiri – at an advance World Giraffe Day celebration that, beyond the fun activities, should also live up to its potential in educating people about the plight of giraffes in the wild.
[Featured Image by Joern Pollex/Getty Images]
