Giraffe Celebrates 2nd Birthday

2nd Birthday Celebrations for Finn the Giraffe at Fota Wildlife Park

On Sunday 4^th of July Fota Wildlife Park are going to be holding a birthday party for Finn the youngest male giraffe at the park who will be two.

Finn was born on the 4th of July 2008 and was the cause of much celebration at Fota Wildlife Park similar to scenes at the park in April when his younger sister Aoife was born.  “This is the second birthday party we have had for Finn, last year’s one drew a very big crowd as the giraffes at the park are extremely popular with the public, what makes this year so special is that Finn will be joined by his 3 month old sister Aoife” added Stephen Ryan spokesperson for the Park.

Roisin like all giraffe mothers gave birth to Finn whilst standing and so, the first experience the little calf had was a 6ft drop to the ground.  However the park have no plans to give him any birthday bumps to remind him of the fall.

To celebrate Finn becoming the big 2, the park is hosting a week of activities including storytelling, arts and crafts and talks leading up to the celebrations on Sunday afternoon. The staff in the park will be helped in the celebrations by the Unity Drums team who will be beating out the sounds of Africa with a drumming workshop from 12 until 4pm.

Commenting on the event Stephen Ryan added that “this is going to be a great day at Fota, We are getting a special birthday cake for him and getting everyone to sing happy birthday outside the giraffe house at 4.30pm”. The park are also asking kids to send in handmade birthday cards to Finn which will be displayed on the day.

Finn is the youngest male Rothschild giraffe at Fota Wildlife Park, which are one of nine races of giraffe found in Africa.  The Rothschild Giraffe are exterminated from much of their former habitat, they can now be seen in western Kenya and eastern Uganda.

The park is also giving children a chance to see Finn and Aoife up close this summer as part of their annual kids camps. The kids camps which take place over 5 weeks between July and August cost €95 per child include a behind the scenes tour of the Giraffe House, bookings can be made through Fota Wildlife Parks education department email education@fotawildlife.ie or call 021 4812678 ext 206.

• Giraffes are the tallest land mammal. They are often called the watchtowers of the Serengeti, helping to keep track of predators. The Rothschild giraffe is taller than any other sub species.
• The males can grow up to 5.9m in height and are capable of attaining weights in excess of 2000kg.
• The giraffe is a strict herbivore eating leaves and buds from trees. It digests its food in a chambered stomach.
• Females give birth to a single calf after a gestation period of 15 months. A mother giraffe often gives birth while standing so that the newborn’s first experience outside the womb is a 1.8 m (6 ft.) drop!
• Fota Wildlife Park’s education department has been providing summer camps since 1995. Since their establishment, attendance figures have grown to over 450 participants over a six week period, making it one of the most popular summer camps in the Munster area.
• Activities range from arts and crafts to sports and environmental activities. All of the activities on offer are based around the theme of the natural world. Participants are segregated based on age groups and the activities on offer are age specific.
• Part of the Summer Camp’s goal includes collaborating with local organisations and companies to promote and encourage environmental awareness. The environmental Unit of Cork County Council has kindly sponsored a series of events including “Friday is environmental funday”.
• The camps take place on July 12th – 16^th, 19th – 23^rd, 26th – 30^th and Aug 9th – 13^th, 16th – 20th
• Full details are available on www.fotawildlife.ie/education