Animal Adventure Park: April The Giraffe Spends Time Lying Down, Labor ‘Close’
A short while ago, Animal Adventure Park’s biggest star walked to the center of her stall, widened her stance, lifted her tail for a few moments…
And peed.
Perhaps the most dramatic urination many of us have ever seen, hearts stopped as April the giraffe positioned herself for relief. If you haven’t tuned in to watch April on Animal Adventure Park’s live feed, you might be wondering what’s so crazy about a giraffe responding to nature’s call. If you’ve been glued to your computer screen for the past week like the rest of us, you probably understand.
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Animal Adventure Park is home to April the giraffe, who just happens to be pregnant with her fourth calf and is well on her way to giving birth. Over the past 48 hours, the New York area zoo has been dealing with a pretty nasty snowstorm in addition to keeping an eye on their star giraffe, who could welcome her calf any hour now. Although April isn’t officially in labor, she has been showing all kinds of signs that she is “close.”
The zoo has noted “discharge, swelling, [and] pulsing” as well as a more “relaxed back end.” As previously reported by the Inquisitr, April had a very busy night last night, and many viewers thought that the calf was going to make an appearance. Mama giraffe had her tail up for an extended period of time and her belly was moving around quite a bit, indicating that April may have been ready to give birth. However, things settled down, and she has had a relatively normal day today thus far.
Viewers have been noticing a more “tired” seeming giraffe as April has spent a pretty good portion of her Thursday lying down.
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Animal Adventure Park has been great about posting updates and answering questions from their thousands of daily viewers. Although the zoo is unsure of April’s exact due date, it has been confirmed that she’s full term — for a giraffe, that’s 15 months.
So, what are we waiting for?
Giraffes are super stealthy when it comes to having a baby. Most of these animals don’t want anyone to know that they are in any kind of distress (ya’know, instincts), so they keep themselves put together until it is actually time. It’s entirely possible that the public won’t know whether April is officially in labor unless someone at Animal Adventure Park posts that update. In fact, it’s possible that viewers may all of a sudden see hooves coming out of April’s back-side without much of a warning. It’s going to all depend on how April is feeling and how well she can hide her labor.
There are a few signs that Animal Adventure Park is looking out for. First, April’s calf will reposition itself before birth so that it’s lined up with the birth canal. If you look closely, you may be able to see April’s contractions — when they start. You’ll notice movement in her hips, according to Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch. He told 12 News that contractions are evident by “movement in the hips, straightening of the neck and…stomach movement.”
Something else to look for will be April’s water breaking.
“It can be anywhere from a slow trickle of liquid to a flow of mucus,” according to 12 News.
Check April the giraffe out in the feed below — and don’t be surprised to see her chilling out. She had a long night and her belly is pretty big!
[Featured Image by Animal Adventure Park/Instagram]
