June 21 - World Giraffe Day

nPosted on June 21, 2019

Key points

nI just spent two weeks in Iceland, and, oh, boy, do the seasons make a huge difference there! I was spending days when the sun set around 10:30 at night and rose again just a few hours later, around 3:30 in the morning. And I wasn’t in Iceland during the longest days. On June 15, in Akureyri, Iceland, the sun set at 12:44 p.m. and rose again less than an hour later, at 1:39 a.m. It probably never got fully dark. Today, the longest day of the year, the sun probably never sets or rises there!

Of course, in the winter, it’s the opposite – the days are very short in Iceland, and the nights are really loooong.

Well, that huge seasonal difference just isn’t true for the tropics. All year long, in the tropics, day and night are close to equal in length.

nGiraffes live mostly in areas within the tropics, so it’s kind of funny that their “world day” was deliberately put on the longest day of the year (for Northern Hemisphere folks) and longest night of the year (for Southern Hemisphere folks). The common denominator is the word longest (giraffes are the longest necked animals), but longest days and nights just aren’t that much of a factor for these critters.

nSpeaking of funny, with their looong legs and looong necks, giraffes sometimes look…a bit funny!

n
n

nAnd giraffe tongues are pretty looong, too!

nBy the way, giraffes can fight one another with those looong necks!

nOf course, giraffes often look cute – especially the babies!

n
n

nThere is some disagreement about giraffe species – do all giraffes alive today belong to one species with nine sub-species? – or are there eight different species?

nEither way, giraffes are plant eaters who live in savannas and open woodlands (but not dense jungles). Their long necks enable them to eat leaves that are much higher than those eaten by other herbivores.

nSome giraffe species (or subspecies) are rated vulnerable or threatened. Today might be a great day to learn more about these giants – or to contribute to a wildlife fund dedicated to their protection!