April the Giraffe finally gives birth
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. -- It's a giraffe! April the Giraffe give birth on camera Saturday morning.
A live camera feed shows the expecting mama's pen at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York. Veterinarians at Animal Adventure Park has been posting daily updates on their Facebook page.
"She is less engaging, hesitant to eat her feed (and treats) and unresponsive to a lot of various stimuli. You will also see her do a few things including standing and staring off into space as well as stretching her neck and back legs. If you watch carefully you will see her abdominal wall tense up during those episodes. You'll also see a lot more squinting and just odd behavior. Also important to note is the amount and size of her fecal output. Everything she is doing is surely pointing to her going into labor soon," Animal Adventure Park wrote on Friday.
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April, who's 15 years old, is having the baby with Oliver, a 5-year-old giraffe, according to Animal Adventure. This is Oliver's first calf, but April knows the drill - this is her fourth.
April had been pregnant for 15 months, the normal gestation time for a giraffe. When she finally gave birth, her calf's front hooves came out first, followed by the snout. He or she will weigh around 150 pounds and will stand about 6 feet tall.
April will raise her calf naturally, and weaning could take between 6 to 10 months, maybe longer. Oliver, however, will not assist in raising the calf. Male giraffes, according to Animal Adventure Park, "only really care about two things - fighting and the unmentionable."
So because of fears of inbreeding, the calf will be relocated to another facility once the weaning process is over.
Make sure to keep up with this live stream: Once the calf is born, Animal Adventure will have a contest to name the calf!
