Doncaster's Yorkshire Wildlife Park to celebrate World Giraffe Day on longest day

The longest day will be welcomed by Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s giraffes who have the longest necks in the animal kingdom.

By Stephanie Bateman
Friday, 21 June, 2019, 12:22
World Giraffe Day at the Wildlife Park, Doncaster. Picture courtesy of Yorkshire Wildlife Park

The summer equinox is shared by World Giraffe Day this Friday and the award-winning park’s lofty residents will be enjoying special treats to mark the double celebration and raise awareness about the precarious state of the species’ numbers in the wild.

A giraffe can weigh up to 600lbs, with legs that are 6ft in length and a neck that can stretch to more than 6ft in length.

They have a special vein system in their necks to ensure they don’t get a rush of blood to the head when they bend down.

The award-winning park at Branton, near Doncaster, is home to four giraffes, Jambo, Jengo, Behansin, and Palle, who are visitors’ favourites and help raise awareness over conservation efforts.

“They are incredible animals and we will be marking World Giraffe Day on the longest day of the year on Friday,” said Britt Jensen, hoofstock team leader.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation charity, based at the park, raises funds for the Giraffe Conservation Foundation as part of the international effort to save the species.

In 2016, the Yorkshire Wildlife Park Foundation helped fund the relocation of 18 Rothschild giraffes from the northern part of Murchison Falls National Park in Uganda across the River Nile to the southern part of the park.

There are an estimated 1,500 Rothschild’s giraffes remaining in the wild, and 1,250 of these were said to be living in the northern part of the park in Uganda, so this relocation was essential to increase their range and ensure sustainable long-term survival.