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Animal Adventure Park Live Cam: Q&A With Toys ‘R’ Us, April’s Cub Settles Down

By Lorenzo Tanos
Published on: 01:33 PST, Mar 25, 2017

Animal Adventure Park’s live cam may have gone down for some time yesterday, but it’s back up once again. And while it’s mostly more of the same as April has yet to give birth to her fourth cub, the petting zoo posted a 23-minute Q&A with Toys ‘R’ Us, with April the Giraffe front-and-center as the main topic of note.

So far, it would seem that there haven’t been too many new updates of note, as this morning’s Animal Adventure Park’s Facebook update suggests that her cub is less active in her belly, not kicking as much as it has been in recent days.

“This morning’s keeper report is baby has settled down compared to yesterday’s continued judo chop marathon. Appetite is consistent, and observed changes from last evening are same as reported prior.”

Aside from reporting the latest from the Animal Adventure Park live cam, the zoo posted a Q&A session where a Toys ‘R’ Us representative named Candice spoke yesterday with park owner Jordan Patch, zoologist Allysa Swilley, and Allysa’s fellow caretaker Corey Dwyer. The complete interview was also posted on YouTube and promises a mix of “repeated” content and new facts on the zoo and its now-famous giraffes April and Oliver.

When asked about April’s “baby daddy” Oliver, Swilley had some interesting insights on the 5-year-old male giraffe, who will become a first-time father when April gives birth.

“So really, in the animal world, especially in giraffes, males hook up with the females, they ‘cruise’ that baby, and then they leave. So Oliver really doesn’t care about what’s going on. He’s just in the mood to make another baby, so to speak.”

Swilley also had a brief answer to a viewer question on whether giraffes are monogamous — “not at all.” In other words, Oliver will likely be playing the field in the years to come, as he grows in age and in size. Currently, he stands only about 10 feet tall, but as Swilley said, male giraffes typically grow to heights of up to 18 feet tall.

As Toys ‘R’ Us sponsors April the Giraffe, the company’s representative asked Patch if he believes Geoffrey has a chance as a possible name for April and Oliver’s soon-to-be-born cub. Geoffrey the Giraffe is Toys ‘R’ Us’ mascot, having taken that name in 1969 when the company changed its name from Children’s Bargain Town.

“Geoffrey is a little bit larger than life as it is. To have a Geoffrey Jr. to live in that shadow, I think this calf is going to have quite a big shadow of its own.”

Patch told Toys ‘R’ Us about the April the Giraffe naming contest, and while this has long been confirmed by Animal Adventure Park, he stressed that it’s important that people don’t send in their names just yet, either via Facebook or email, and “just wait” for the contest to begin. He also explained that votes will be based on how much people would donate for the name of their choice – a donation of $1 toward a certain name will count as one vote, while a larger $100 donation would be good for a hundred votes. Another round of voting will then follow after the donation period, pitting the five most popular names against each other.

Funds collected through the contest will go toward three things, said Patch – the Giraffe Conservation Foundation in Namibia, the maintenance of Animal Adventure Park’s giraffe cam and its giraffes, and the yearly charity event Ava’s Little Heroes. Patch explained that this event, which is named after his daughter, raises funds for families whose children have “unexpected medical issues.” He also noted how AAP’s partnership with Toys ‘R’ Us over April the Giraffe allowed the zoo to make a significant donation to the aforementioned Giraffe Conservation Foundation.

While April’s caretakers Allysa and Corey gave humorous answers when Toys ‘R’ Us asked when April the Giraffe may give birth, Patch was more straightforward when he predicted that the birth may take place on Tuesday, March 28. He did warn, however, that he’s been wrong “plenty of times,” as this is far from the first time he’s tried to make such a prediction.

Toward the end of the interview, Jordan Patch promised Animal Adventure Park live cam viewers that the zoo will go on Facebook Live the moment April the Giraffe is ready to give birth, but also admitted that it may be easy for viewers to sense that “something is up” if they notice activity near April’s pen.

[Featured Image by Warren Little/Getty Images]

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