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HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. — Thousands of people continue to follow the saga of April the giraffe, who zoo officials say is “very active” Saturday ahead of delivering a long-awaited calf.
April’s pregnancy and anticipated delivery has captured the attention and curiosity of thousands of people across the country, partly after the live stream was initially removed over complaints the stream of the pregnancy amounted to “sexually explicit” content.
Fans of the now-famous giraffe have been watching for more than a week, and Saturday afternoon as many as 84,000 people were tuned into the YouTube live stream.
Animal Adventure Park posted a new photo of April Saturday along with a message, saying in part: “Pregnancy belly has never looked so good! Move over Beyonce — there is a new bump in town!
See the post embedded below for an update on April from zoo officials, who said April may have had some contractions overnight.
According to Animal Adventure Park, the calf will weigh about 150 pounds and will stand 6-feet tall at birth. A giraffe’s pregnancy lasts about 15 months. The zoo plans to have a contest to name the calf once it is born.
The zoo says April is 15 and this is her fourth calf. Oliver, the father, is 5 and this is his first calf.
When the calf arrives, the zoo says the front hooves will emerge first followed by the snout. April will raise the calf naturally, and weaning could take between 6 and 10 months and perhaps even longer. The zoo says Oliver won’t spend much time with the calf.
“Bulls (male giraffes) only really care about two things- fighting and the unmentionable….” the zoo wrote in the video description. “Oliver may share space with April, but for short periods. Bulls take no part in rearing young.”
