The Living Desert hosts ‘Year of the Giraffe’ launch party

Employees at the Living Desert in Palm Desert are proud to announce “Year of the Giraffe”.

At Sunday morning’s launch party, guests got to get up-close and personal with the zoo’s eight giraffes. People were able to feed the animals, participate in a scavenger hunt, hang out in the school house to learn more about the animals, and enjoy food and drinks. Some people even got a behind-the-scenes giraffe tour.

The year-long conservation effort is focused on saving the giraffe from extinction.

“Giraffe are endangered, and many people don’t know that. They’re facing what they call a silent extinction. They’ve lost about 40 percent of their population in the last 30 years, so it’s quite dramatic. There are actually fewer giraffe than there are elephants,” Erin Scott, The Living Desert’s PR and Marketing manager said.

The zoo is also supporting two programs in Africa. One in which they educate 5,000 students about their giraffe neighbors, and the other program helps with field research.