National & World Days (3) 🐰🐨🦍

International Rabbit Day promotes protecting and caring for domestic and wild rabbits every year on the fourth Saturday of September. Who doesn’t love a cute bunny rabbit? These soft, furry animals are enjoyed by many around the world. Often used as a symbol of fertility and or rebirth, many associate these adorable animals with spring and Easter.

Every year on the last Friday in September, Save the Koala Day raises awareness for the plight of the koala. It’s also a day to educate the public on the importance of conserving the koala’s natural habitat. Even though it’s called a koala bear, the koala isn’t actually a bear. Instead, the koala is a marsupial. This means that the koala is a mammal that carries its young in a pouch. In the late 18th century, English-speaking settlers in Australia called the animal a bear. These settlers thought the koala looked and behaved like a bear. Since then, many people call these animals koala bears. Australia provides the only natural habitat in the world for koala. Known as tree-hugging mammals, koalas live in eucalyptus trees. They grow up to 3 feet tall and weigh anywhere from 9 to 30 pounds.

September 24^th is World Gorilla Day! Gorillas are one of the most endangered apes, whose population counts between 100,000 and 200,000 specimens. These giant apes are from Equatorial Africa and display behavior and emotions surprisingly similar to humans. We humans actually share no less than 98.3% of our genetic code with them. Along with chimpanzees and bonobos, we all descend from a single common ape-like ancestry!