Brookfield Zoo to Celebrate World Giraffe Day, Giraffe Birthday

Submitted by the Chicago Zoological Society. Photos 1,2: Potaka. Photo 3: Jasiri and Potaka. Photo 4: Arnieta.

Everyone is invited to join Potoka, one of Brookfield Zoo’s giraffes, in celebrating his second birthday and World Giraffe Day, presented by JobGiraffe, on June 20 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Guests will party with Potoka and learn about the threatened status of giraffes and how to help protect them and their environment.

The event will kick off at 10 a.m. as guests decorate pennants, banners, and birthday wishes for Potoka in Hamill Family Play Zoo. At noon, zoogoers of all ages can join in a parade from Hamill Family Play Zoo to Habitat Africa! The Savannah for the birthday celebration. During the festivities, Potoka will be given a special birthday cake made from his usual diet of fruits and vegetables while guests sing “Happy Birthday” to him.

After Potoka has his fill of cake, a giraffe Zoo Chat will take place at 1 p.m. and will focus on how the Chicago Zoological Society, which manages the zoo, cares for its giraffes. Additional Zoo Chats will take place at 3:30 and 6 p.m.

Throughout the day, interpretive items—including examples of the giraffes’ favorite foods, hides, and giraffe enrichment—will be on display by the exhibit’s waterhole. Interpretive staff will explain the various objects and answer questions. They will also share information on the issues that giraffe populations in Africa are facing due to poaching and habitat loss.

World Giraffe Day raises awareness for giraffes and is celebrated across the globe. The 2015 World Giraffe Day is dedicated to saving endangered Rothschild’s giraffes in Uganda. With less than 1,100 Rothschild’s giraffes remaining in the wild and 75 percent of these concentrated in one national park in Uganda, this subspecies has been listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List since 2010. In addition to learning how to help conserve and protect giraffes that live in the wild, guests can also find out how to adopt two of the zoo’s giraffes, Potoka and Arnieta, through Brookfield Zoo’s Share the Care program.

World Giraffe Day is free with general zoo admission, which is $16.95 for adults and $11.95 for children ages 3-11 and seniors age 65 and over. Children 2 and under are free. Admission to Hamill Family Play Zoo is $3. Parking is $10. For further information, visit www.CZS.org/Events or call (708) 688-8000.