>Since February 15 she walks in circles, locked up, waiting to give birth to her baby. April feels her baby move inside her, but since then she prepares for her child to come to this world, while Oliver , the father, looks at her from a continuous cage.But the fact would not raise more attention were it not because April is the most famous giraffe on the internet. It is that for weeks the responsible of the Animal Adventure Park are waiting for their child to appear and they placed a camera that allows to follow the birth live from YouTube.
April is 15 years old , which normally lives a giraffe in its natural habitat.However, when they are in captivity and under human care, their age can be extended to 27.This is the fourth time that the most famous giraffe on YouTube and Facebook is going to be mom. She never lost a pregnancy. But the first that will be before the cameras and in that reserve on the outskirts of New York . The veterinarians who are in charge of the care of the animal do not yet know the sex of their offspring: the ultrasound equipment they applied did not yield results.
One of the key characteristics of giraffes that are at term is that they do not show any type of symptoms that they are in labor. Although it is known that the pregnancy extends for 15 months , at the time of delivery conceal their signals so that predators are not lurking.
The reason why Oliver can not be with the mother is that the males have serious difficulties to interact without instinctively seeking two things, besides eating: fighting or mating.>Animal Adventure will allow children to participate in the choice of name.The contest has not yet been released because it was not born and the sex of the animal is still unknown.
Sunday April 2
7.20pm BST: April is facing away from the web cam again. More than 227,000 viewers are watching her every movement right now.
One fan tweeted: “Are these contractions or just the baby moving around? I’ve been seeing them for (many) weeks now.”
3.20pm BST: Facebook user Mindy Amirault-Schrader said: “April wins, hands down, for the best mannequin challenge.
“I never know if my video is frozen or if she’s just standing still. I have to keep looking at her ears to see if they move or her side to see her breathing.”
Dawn Way posted on Facebook: “When I go to bed at night I check her and as soon as I get up I check her.
“I think I know how many markings she has I’ve been watching so long.”
Giraffes are pregnant for 15 months.
Upon naturally weaning, the calf will move on to another facility to start a breeding program there. Animal Adventure Park officials cannot retain offspring, as it would lead to incestuous mating and undermine the genetics of the program and species.
Those “things” on their heads are called ossicones.
Bulls (male giraffes) only really care about two things — fighting and “the unmentionable.” Oliver may share space with April, but for short periods. Bulls take no part in rearing young.
The giraffes eat hay and a specialized giraffe diet, but love romaine lettuce and carrot treats.
April’s water source, enrichment, and solo hay feeder are out of sight of the camera view.
This will be Animal Adventure Park’s first giraffe calf.