Animal Adventure Park Update: April’s Udder Filling As Birth Of Calf Looms Close
Animal Adventure Park posted their morning update on Facebook, and the zoo has noted that April the giraffe has indeed shown some progress over the past couple of days! We know what you’re thinking: “Again?” Or “Still?” Don’t worry folks, this giraffe calf is coming!
While people have been waiting a few weeks for April to give birth to her fourth calf, Animal Adventure Park continues to report that she’s “getting close” and it seems as though each update they post these days proves that theory.
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“Progression! The udder continues to fill. Giraffes do not ‘bag up’ with a full udder in the sense of a cow, dog, goat, [or] sow. Their udder is very subtle and tucked between the legs. The development occurs, generally, just prior to birthing. Photo of this morning’s mammary growth in comments. Here forward, we are most concerned with this area and will gauge our status from it, until a hoof is waving hello! All other behaviors and appetite are on point,” Animal Adventure Park wrote a short while ago.
If you’ve been following April the giraffe’s story, you probably know that Animal Adventure Park doesn’t know her exact due date. It’s actually quite evident at this point that they don’t even know her birth week (or, dare we say it, month). A giraffe is pregnant for 15 months, but it’s really impossible for the zoo to know when April conceived.
The zookeepers and vets are keeping a close eye on the internet star as she continues to get closer to giving birth, but all they can do is monitor her behavior and watch her body for signs that she is close.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, there are a few things that Animal Adventure Park has been keeping an eye on these past few weeks. For starters, the calf’s movement inside of April’s belly has been significant. Although he or she has been very active, it doesn’t appear as though he/she has moved into birthing position just yet. This will most likely happen right before birth, and it is something that should be noticeable to the zoo staff.
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Animal Adventure Park is also watching April’s undercarriage, specifically the amount of liquid in her udders (as mentioned above). She also has wax caps on her udders that have been thinning and may fall off before her calf arrives. Of course, the wax caps may not fall off completely, and that’s normal too. They will, however, thin enough that when the calf begins sucking, they will come off.
When April is close to giving birth, she will likely experience a loss of appetite. While she doesn’t seem as ravenous these days, she is still eating, so she is not quite there just yet.
Animal Adventure Park has been great about keeping fans of April up to speed on her condition. The zoo has also held quite a few Q&A sessions and has done a great job teaching people about giraffes. Overall, this whole process has been pretty awesome — even if we are all wanting April to just give birth already!
Check out Animal Adventure Park’s Facebook page for up-to-date information on April. Unless the zookeepers notice any significant changes, the next update will be sometime around 8 or 9 p.m. EST.
You can watch April the giraffe on the Animal Adventure Park’s live cam below. Any guesses on when you think she will give birth? Do you think she will have a boy or a girl calf? Let us know in the comments section below!
[Featured Image by Animal Adventure Park/Instagram]
