National Zoological Garden

🐆 Cheetah Fact of the Day 🐆

Cheetahs are best known as the fastest land animals in the world, capable of reaching speeds of up to 100–120 km/h over short distances. Their bodies are specially built for speed, with a lightweight frame, long legs, a flexible spine, and a long tail that helps them balance and steer while running.
One of the cheetah’s most recognisable features is the pair of black “tear marks” running from the inner corners of the eyes down to the mouth. These markings help reduce glare from the sun, allowing cheetahs to focus better when hunting during the day.
Although they are powerful hunters, cheetahs face many threats in the wild, including habitat loss, reduced prey availability, and conflict with people. This is why education and conservation awareness remain so important.
At the National Zoological Garden, we are passionate about caring for and learning from these remarkable animals. Through daily care, observation, and education, we hope to inspire our visitors to appreciate the unique adaptations of cheetahs and understand why protecting wildlife matters.
Every animal has a story to tell — and every visit is an opportunity to learn something new. 💚

🦒 A Heartfelt Thank You for Making Giraffe Day So Special 🦒

We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our dedicated Animal Keepers, the Education Department, students from the University of South Africa (UNISA) and Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), as well as our hardworking interns at the National Zoological Garden for helping to host our Giraffe Day celebrations.

A special thank you also goes to all our wonderful visitors — including Pretoria Boys High School — for joining us, taking part in our interactions, and participating in the giraffe quiz. Your enthusiasm and support helped us create meaningful awareness around giraffes in human care and the importance of giraffe conservation.

These collaborations are incredibly valuable, as they help us share knowledge, inspire care for wildlife, and raise crucial awareness for the protection of giraffes.

As animal caretakers, we remain committed to the wellbeing of our giraffe tower. We will continue to prioritise their health and welfare by providing:
🌿 high-quality browse,
🥕 specialised nutrition, and
🧠 enrichment that supports both mental and physical stimulation while encouraging natural behaviours.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day a success and for standing with us in support of giraffe conservation. 💚

Khomotso Madisha
Animal Keeper

🦒 A Kind Reminder: No Hand-Feeding of Giraffes 🦒

One of the most loved memories for many of our visitors has been the chance to feed our giraffes by hand. We know how special that experience is, and we understand that many of you look forward to it when visiting the Zoo.

For now, however, hand-feeding by visitors has been paused as part of our important Foot and Mouth Disease biosecurity measures. While this may be disappointing, these steps are in place for one very important reason — to protect the health and lives of our giraffes and other vulnerable animals.

At the SANBI/National Zoological Garden, our animals’ wellbeing always comes first. To keep them safe, we have introduced strict precautionary measures, including:

🔸 No visitor hand-feeding to prevent the possible transfer of disease from hands, clothing, or personal items.
🔸 Disinfectant mats and footbaths at key access points to reduce the spread of harmful viral particles.
🔸 Safe barriers and distancing between visitors and susceptible animals to avoid accidental contact or the throwing of food and foreign objects into enclosures.

💚 We kindly ask for your support and understanding.
By following these safety measures, you are playing a direct role in protecting our giraffes and helping us care for them responsibly. Your cooperation may seem like a small act, but it makes a big difference in keeping our animals healthy, safe, and thriving.

Our dedicated Animal Care Team will continue to make sure the giraffes receive all the nutrition, enrichment, and care they need — and visitors can still enjoy watching them during feeding times as they tuck into their favourite leafy treats.

Thank you for standing with us, caring with us, and helping us protect the animals we all love.

Khomotso Madisha
Animal Keeper

🦒 World Giraffe Day – 21 June 2026 🦒

Today, we celebrate the world's tallest mammals and raise awareness about the importance of protecting these gentle giants and their habitats.

Giraffes play a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, yet their populations face increasing threats from habitat loss, climate change, and human activities. World Giraffe Day provides an opportunity to learn more about these remarkable animals and support conservation efforts that help secure their future.

Join us at the National Zoological Garden as we celebrate, learn, connect, and stand tall for giraffes!

Together, we can make a difference for giraffe conservation and inspire future generations to protect our planet's incredible biodiversity.

🦒 Stand Tall for Giraffes!

🦒🌿💚

🦓 Did You Know?

Every zebra has a unique pattern of stripes, just like a human fingerprint! No two zebras are exactly alike, making each one truly special.
These iconic animals use their stripes for more than just looks—they can help with camouflage, social recognition, and even deterring biting insects.
Next time you visit the zoo, take a closer look and see if you can spot the unique markings that make each zebra one of a kind!
📍 Visit the National Zoological Garden and discover the fascinating world of wildlife.
🦓🌿

Can you ID? 🤔

🌱 National Youth Day 2026 🌱

Today, we commemorate the courage, resilience, and determination of South Africa's youth, whose voices helped shape our nation's future.

As we celebrate National Youth Day, SANBI reaffirms its commitment to empowering young people through education, environmental awareness, research, and opportunities that inspire the next generation of biodiversity champions.

Together, let us nurture a future where young minds lead the way in protecting our natural heritage and building a sustainable South Africa.

The Future Calls – Our Commitment to the Future.

🌿🇿🇦

Know more about last year’s Nature Photography Day winner Frank Kruger!

Frank Kruger was very happy and honoured to have won the Nature Photography Day competition with one of the prizes being a full year membership to SANBI’s botanical and zoological gardens.

Photography is a form of expression for him and a way to share his experiences and knowledge with others.

Frank has a chance to use the membership and visited, Pretoria Zoo, Pretoria National Botanical Garden, and Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden.

In Frank’s words about winning and advise to photography lovers “The best thing was the happiness of knowing that my images were seen and appreciated by others. My advice would be to go out and have fun when taking photos. Your unique style is often what captures people’s attention”

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Light, Camera and Action

This Nature Photography Day, allow yourself to be one with nature!

From the beautiful trees, flowing waterfalls and adventure of hiking where breath-taking plants and animals can be discovered.

Visit SANBI’s botanical and zoological gardens between 12 -16 June 2026 and capture moments and share on social media, by tagging any of SANBI’s social media platforms, using the following hashtags: , ,

Win a day visit to one of our botanical or zoological gardens.

Entries close 16 June 2026