April The Giraffe Live: Cam Rolling, Animal Adventure Park Update Compares April To A ‘Hungry Hungry Hippo’
Watching April the giraffe live on the Animal Adventure Park giraffe cam has become a favorite pastime. The cam has been enjoyed by a half million people worldwide. At any given moment, more than 100,000 people tune into YouTube to watch April the giraffe live, who is extremely pregnant now, meander around her stall. We hold our breath, waiting for April to go into active labor and birth her calf. Thousands of individuals, who are unable to keep a continuous eye on the giraffe cam, have even signed up for the Animal Adventure Park’s new text alert system. We watch, and we wait, hoping that we tune in at the right moment.
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
The staff at the Animal Adventure Park, where April the giraffe and her mate Oliver live, have been working hard to give updates on April’s progress, as well as “giraffe factoids” on a daily basis. This morning, the park notated the following on their Facebook Page.
“Hungry Hungry Hip….errr Giraffe! Keepers report is that April has consumed all of last evening’s grain offering, and continues to eat her hay. Udders are full, wax caps have reappeared (as they will come and go at times), and she is very much ‘herself.'”
The Animal Adventure Park has told their followers that before April the giraffe gives birth, she will pace around. Oftentimes, giraffes will only stand still immediately before the hooves appear since it makes them vulnerable to predators. When approaching active labor, giraffes eat very little food, but there have been some instances when giraffe mamas will feast before they famine.
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Last night, the Animal Adventure Park’s zoologist, Alyssa, made some observations during the time that she spent with April the giraffe.
“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.”
Aside from April’s physical changes, such as the shape of her stomach, the milk production and the swelling of her backend, the most obvious sign of an impending live birth at the Animal Adventure Park will be the breaking of April the giraffe’s water. This may, or may not, be viewable from the live giraffe cam. A giraffe’s water can either break in a small trickle or a large swoosh of liquid. Once the water breaks, April will begin to pace around her stall, periodically raising her tail or swishing it quickly back and forth. The final obvious signal that a calf is being born is the appearance of hooves. Active labor happens quickly and, once the hooves appear, the calf will be on the ground within the hour.
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Throughout the week, the staff at Animal Adventure Park have been able to open up the barn doors and allow the giraffes to wander freely in and outside. Unfortunately, New York has been affected by some unfriendly weather overnight.
“The weather has taken a horrible turn here. Rain and cold…and more rain. Mild flooding is occurring along the rivers, we will prep the ark. Giraffes will remain indoors until conditions are agreeable.”
The giraffes love enjoying time outside, and the park has told their followers that they will be installing either a giraffe encounter deck cam or a giraffe yard when the park opens in a few short weeks. The staff at Animal Adventure Park has big plans and a lot to do in a short amount of time. Helping April the giraffe give birth and bring her long-awaited calf into the world is one of those many things and potentially the foremost on the minds of the Animal Adventure Park staff.
April the giraffe, live on the giraffe cam, will give birth when nature tells her it is time. Unfortunately, there isn’t anything that anyone can do to speed up the process. We can, however, enjoy the show while we wait. Watch April the giraffe live on Animal Adventure Parks’s YouTube giraffe cam in the video player below. Who knows, maybe you will be one of the lucky ones to see April birth her calf.
[Featured Image by Svetlana foote/Shutterstock]
