For expectant mothers — having cameras in the delivery room is a personal choice — but not for April the giraffe who
birthed her calf for all the world to see.
The video was live-streamed on the internet by proud zookeepers at Animal Adventure Park in upstate New York. Millions of viewers were glued to April’s live Giraffe cam for more than two months waiting for her to give birth.
On April 15 — after weeks of anticipation – over 13 million animal lovers witnessed the birth of April’s calf. Excited Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch posted to Facebook to announce that April was in labor.
“Everybody are you watching?! It’s happening,” Patch said on Facebook. “The labor alert just went out. Dr. Tim is on our way. We are in labor. So tune in!”
“It’s a boy!!!,”Animal Adventure Park announced on their website. Currently, their website is now holding a contest to name the newborn male.
“For the next 10 days you can vote on any name or names you choose for April’s new calf,” the park wrote on their website. “You even get to decide your own spelling. Come back and vote as many times as you’d like. You can enter and vote on as many names as you want. A minimum of five votes cost a buck each with your donation going to:
- Giraffe Conservation Efforts in the wild — We will continue to build towards our banked contribution to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
- Ava’s Little Heroes — An event named after the daughter of the park owners, who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy. The funds generated for this annual campaign support local families and their children experiencing unexpected medical journeys and expenses.
- Animal Adventure —The park will continue to improve the animal and guest experiences at the park with further improvements and projects — helping further our message and mission of education.”
After the end of the first part of the contest, the top ten names will be revealed and a vote will be taken. At the end of voting, the winning name will be revealed.
As a further promotion, the park is now selling T-shirts that say, “
I survived giraffe watch” and “I spent March waiting for April.”
Source: Animal Adventure Park
Since April gave birth, zookeepers have provided an on-going update on Facebook.
Their most recent post on April 16 read, “Vet Check and a Thumbs Up. This morning the team got hands on with baby to do a full vet check and record height and weight. Height: 5′ 9″ Weight: 129 lbs (there is a weight drop the first 24 hours) Baby checks out just perfect! Nursing strongly this morning without any concerns. April has recovered perfectly and is eating everything in sight!”
In case you missed it, here’s the fascinating graphic footage of the moment of birth. It’s very slow, as you mostly see a pair of feet jutting out of April as she occasionally turns her head to see her calf’s progress. You can see the baby’s father, Oliver, nervously pacing like an expectant dad in the pen next to hers. The moment arrives about a half-hour into the video where you can see the calf’s head jut out as it slowly falls to the floor. The calf is resting comfortably after the ordeal.
Still want more from Animal Adventure Park about April?
For more about April and her calf, you can watch the
24-hour live coverage of their every move.
Source: Animal Adventure Park/Facebook
