Happy World Giraffe Day! Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Georgia is celebrating this special day with their two giraffes, Bariki and Bakari, with some new animal enrichment! This large ball provides tactical and cognitive enrichment for both Bariki and Bakari. Currently, they’re becoming used to the presence of the ball, but soon they’ll be able to push, kick, and nudge it around their habitat! Bakari has also gotten celebrity status recently due to his unlikely friendship with Kurtsie, a zebra born in December 2023. The two are rarely far apart. Guests can often see them grooming one another, resting side by side in the field, or sharing hay in the giraffe barn.

Wild Adventures also has a great giraffe encounter where you get to feed these amazing animals and get some great pictures. You can do this as part of the Ultimate Animal Feeding Package or as a standalone activity. It’s very affordable as the Ultimate Animal Feeding Package that also includes The Birdhouse, gators, Liberty Farms Petting Zoo, the pond and a souvenir photo is only $30. If you just want to feed the giraffes it’s $5 for 4 lettuce leaves or 8 for $8 with daily feedings At 1:30 & 3:30 PM. There is a special platform near the giraffe enclosure where your whole family can fit and get some epic group photos. You’ll be given some lettuce leaves to feed the giraffes and there is a park photographer that will capture some pictures for you and you can also of course take your own. In the final pic one member of your group takes the final lettuce leaf and puts it behind their head so you end up with a giraffe photo bombing your picture! Kurtsie the zebra frequently joins Bakari during giraffe feedings and encounters. She will often weave around his legs or nudge him for attention, and she sometimes naps next to him as he interacts with caretakers and guests.

In honor of World Giraffe Day, here are some fun facts about giraffes courtesy of Wild Adventures:

• Giraffes can grow up to 18 feet tall!
• Giraffe necks have exactly the same number of cervical vertebrae as humans (seven)!
• Giraffes are herbivores, meaning they only eat plants.
• Bariki and Bakari’s favorite snack is elm tree clippings.
• A giraffe’s tongue can grow up to 20 inches long!
• Giraffe spot patterns are similar to human fingerprints; no two giraffes have the exact same design!
• Giraffes can run up to 35 mph!
• Coincidence or not, giraffes are the tallest mammal in the world, and World Giraffe Day is on the longest day of the year.

Giraffes are amazing animals and Wild Adventures is a great place to see them. The giraffes are quickly becoming stars and an iconic part of the park. Wild Adventures has some great viewing of their giraffes from both inside the park as well as the Safari Campground as well as the fun feeding encounter. If you visit Valdosta and Wild Adventures be sure to visit Bariki and Bakari!