The zookeeper says her long-necked charges - Hunter and Tallbert - are among the more popular denizens of Tasmania Zoo, near Launceston.

Now, on the shortest day of the year, Ms Neal is celebrating World Giraffe Day by offering special VIP tours of the giraffe feeding area and sheds this Saturday.

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The two animals came to the zoo just before Christmas last year, and are the only giraffes kept in Tasmania.

"They're settling in really well, Hunter is definitely more confident, he'll come over when we do encounters, always very friendly, and keen to meet more people. But Tallbert - a lot more shy, he'll come over only when he feels like it," she said.

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And as tall as the animals are, both are very young, at around two years old.

"So they're still very short, they've still got a lot of growing to do," Ms Neal said.

World Giraffe Day is an event aimed at drawing attention to the plight of the animals in their native Africa, where populations have declined by about 75 per cent in the past 150 years.

"There are people out there poaching them, there is that drawcard [among hunters] of going to Africa to shoot down one of these amazing animals. But I'd say habitat loss is certainly the biggest threat to them," she said.

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While the zoo is helping promote awareness through the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Ms Neal looks for the lighter note as well.

"Why is a giraffe's neck so long?" she asks. "Because their feet smell."

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