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April The Giraffe Gives Birth To New Calf

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(KDKA) -- April the Giraffe, who was made famous two years ago when her pregnancy captivated the internet, gave birth to a calf on Saturday afternoon.

The Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, has been livestreaming April during her most recent pregnancy.

WATCH LIVE: APRIL THE GIRAFFE LIVE CAMERA:

April the Giraffe Cam - Animal Adventure Park by Animal Adventure Park on YouTube

The baby appears to be in good condition after being born just after lunchtime on Saturday.

giraffe
April the Giraffe and her new calf (Photo via screenshot of Animal Adventure Park livestream)

UPDATE -- MARCH 15:

"Behavior had the team caution. Cautious enough that mammary development photos were not taken, and distance was kept. While her interest in treats was obvious to cam viewers, she was cautious of those around her.

Keeper's also observed "spasms" in the muscles where the "belly" meets the "hip", which could be contractions.

Based on all observations, as a precaution, teams did bed down the stall with additional substrate in the event of an evening or early morning delivery."

UPDATE -- MARCH 14:

" She spent the day eating & resting and enjoying enrichment feeders!

Afternoon checks were as expected, so Jordan & Dr Tm thought they would remind April of just how fun and cute baby giraffes are! Perhaps we tried too hard?

Udders full, back end swollen, muscles/ligaments relaxed... Ready when you are April!"

UPDATE -- MARCH 13:

"A big appetite is a good thing, but what does it mean? Much like human mothers might report an increased appetite before labor, our April could be experiencing the same thing. As much as we try not to compare animals to humans - it is the best way to explain and allow some of you to relate!

We continued to observe raised and extended tail movements, also swell of the back end with added pressure, throughout the day."

UPDATE -- MARCH 12:

"Teams assembled at the park based on Giraffe Cam & Keeper observations of what appeared to be contractions, with "pushing". Every few minutes, April would extend her tail and her back end would bulge an additional couple inches away from the body due to pressure. This was observed repeatedly, along with discharge - prompting cleaning, bedding, and preparedness. Lo and behold, April was being April."

UPDATE -- MARCH 10:

From the Animal Adventure Park:

"Our team has no concern for April, and continue to monitor, but we will admit - all signs pointed to a weekend calf. Again - we watch and wait.

Promising and new is that April's tail is now hanging and pinning to the left a bit, which is appropriate and expected positioning for the big moment."

UPDATE -- MARCH 9:

From the Animal Adventure Park:

"More than days prior, viewers witnessed April's behavioral being extremely off. Standing in one place, staring at the wall, and simply not responding to activity around her.

Without question we are there - it's a matter of when.

With darkness soon falling on the park, and many of our viewers, it should be an interesting next 12 hours!"

UPDATE -- MARCH 8:

From the Animal Adventure Park:

"We got, What we wanted!"

From this morning, to this evening, April has profoundly advanced.

We have consistent stringy discharge with the desired clear/cloudy coloration. This would support why April was spending a bit of time at her back end this afternoon.

UPDATE -- MARCH 7:

From the Animal Adventure Park: April has continued to keep us all on edge today after the start of thick discharge, lots of tail raising, & obvious calf re-positioning. With all that excitement and anticipation, comes the need to also get goofy!

UPDATE -- MARCH 5:

Motion in the belly, you can really see April's calf moving around.

UPDATE -- MARCH 4:

April continues to advance, and her size is quite impressive her keepers say.

"She continues to show interest in food items and is accepting of keeper veterinary inspection. We do observe periods of neck extensions, tail raising, and "zoning out" - but could be due to a number of variables related to the pregnancy; calf movement, cramps, gas, etc."

The park says on Facebook that "April's behavioral and physical changes are suggesting she is very much moving towards having a calf in the coming weeks."

The park also says they've been wrong before. (You may remember April originally was thought to go into Labor in February in 2017, but ended up having her calf in April.)

April's pregnancy drew more than 232 million YouTube live views during a seven-week period in 2017 before she gave birth to Tajiri.

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