LIVE GIRAFFE CAM: April the Giraffe still pregnant - for now
HARPURSVILLE, New York. -- April the Giraffe is having a baby, and she's ready to give birth at any moment! Still. After a month of watching.
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. On Friday, they said they expected April to deliver her calf by the end of the weekend after observing changes in her behavior that indicate labor is near.
"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.
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 will be her fourth.
April has been pregnant for 15 months, the normal gestation time for a giraffe. When she finally gives birth, her calf's front hooves will come 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!
WATCH THE ANIMAL ADVENTURE GIRAFFE CAM LIVE:
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