Animal Adventure Park Reveals That April The Giraffe Might Be Feasting Before Giving Birth
Animal Adventure Park revealed in its evening update on Thursday, April 6, that April the giraffe’s eating habits have reversed from what they were. The park suspects this might be another sign that April is about to give birth soon!
Everyone is wondering when April is going to have her baby giraffe. Millions have invested a lot of time watching her on Animal Adventure Park’s live cam, and catching up on the facility’s Facebook updates. The most recent update suggests a new development in April’s behavior when it comes to food.
At this stage in her pregnancy, April has been less enthusiastic about eating. Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park, revealed in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America that April is usually a “pig” and loves her food. Although April hasn’t been as excited to eat, the latest news to emerge from the park is that April’s appetite is back!
Animal Adventure Park wrote in its latest update that April might be feasting before giving birth.
“Allysa has reported that April has quite an appetite this evening! This is after a few days of picking at grain and hay. We have been told by other parks that mothers will sometimes feast just before the birth. Who knows and here is to hoping! Behavior was very typical at first, but shifted during Allysa’s time with her. This is not a bad thing, just adds another piece to our puzzle.”
Park caretakers are keeping an eye on April 24/7, like many people who are watching the Animal Adventure Park live cam. She’s seen daily accepting treats from her handler, Alyssa, and munching away on her hay.
On Wednesday, April’s mate, Oliver, was let out in the yard for several hours. The park didn’t let either giraffe out on Thursday due to bad climate. They shared in their update that it was extremely cold and rainy in Harpursville, New York today. A significant amount of flooding has unleashed in the nearby rivers and it’s not safe for the animals to be out right now. Once the weather clears, April and Oliver will have the option of getting some fresh air.
Thursday morning’s update on April informed fans that her belly shape had morphed from a beach ball-type look to a more “streamlined” one.
“Her body/belly is much less beach balled, as the bulges have streamlined. Perhaps suggesting a new position of calf…we hope for launch sequence!”
Jordan and everyone else at Animal Adventure Park have stopped making predictions about when April is going to have her baby giraffe. So far the giraffe’s pregnancy has extended a lot longer than anyone thought it would. They set up the live cam in mid-February — completely unaware that it would run a solid two months with hundreds of thousands of people watching April in her stall daily.
Corey will be putting them to bed and giving evening treats at 7:40 pm. Super Chat will be held from 8-9pm on Official Giraffe Cam page. pic.twitter.com/71DrqBzif7
— April The Giraffe (@AprilTheGiraffe) April 6, 2017
April’s behavior seen on the live cam was the usual on Thursday, ambling around her stall, eating, and resting. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, but there was an average of 215,000 viewers at any given time despite the uneventful day.
Is the fact that April’s appetite has returned means she’s closer to giving birth to her baby giraffe? Any and everything April does is closely watched by the vet and staff at Animal Adventure Park. Will the big day be this weekend?
[Featured Image by Byelikova Oksana/Shutterstock]
