Could April The Giraffe Hold Out Until April Fool’s Day? Watch Live Cam [Video]

While millions are glued to the live giraffe cam, waiting for April to give birth, there are some who think it would be perfect if she could hold out until April Fool’s Day. April is a 15-year-old reticulated giraffe who lives with her 5-year-old mate, Oliver, and approximately 200 other animals at the Animal Adventure Park (AAP) in Harpursville, New York.

Update: April 1, 2017

This is not an April’s Fool’s Day joke. It is Saturday morning, April 1, 2017, and millions of people worldwide woke up (or delayed going to bed) to check in on April and her calf as the birth of her new calf is imminent. Unfortunately, inclement New York weather has resulted in the giraffe cam going offline. The downtime has million of viewers freaking out as they are unsure whether they missed the birth, if the birth is happening now or if April is still pregnant. Who would have thought that New York weather would pull the greatest April Fool’s Day prank in history? Rest assured that April is still pregnant and if you haven’t liked the official

Rest assured that April is still pregnant and if you haven’t liked the official Animal Adventure Park Facebook page, you should do so now. Once April’s active labor begins, the AAP will go live on Facebook. If you subscribe to the official Animal Adventure Park YouTube page, you’ll get notifications when they are live streaming. Beware as there are countless fake pages pretending to be the official giraffe cam stream. There is a great chance that April will have her baby on April Fool’s day and the weather taking the live giraffe cam offline is undoubtedly causing great stress for many. And really may be one of the worst April Fool’s Day pranks. Once the cam is live streaming again, the playlist below will automatically update with the new feed. Here is the latest update as provided by the Animal Adventure Park.

https://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdventurePark/photos/a.385457754890443.1073741826.246833958752824/944765165626363/?type=3

Park owner Jordan Patch observed mating behavior in October of 2015 and, based upon a 15 month gestation period, estimated April was due to have a calf somewhere between the middle and end of February 2017. When that time frame passed, it was determined that the due date could be 17 days or even 34 following. With the latter, it is possible that April could wait until April Fool’s Day and have her baby then. Jordan Patch spoke about the timeline for April’s due date in a video update. You may watch the live giraffe cam below as well as Animal Adventure Park’s video updates in the playlist.

Watch April the Giraffe Live Cam

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzJSe9QnMPV8gadzivVITOH4gDmTDaoHq

April the Giraffe Timeline is Wrong

You can hear Jordan Patch discuss the timeline and April’s miscalculated due date in the video below. Fast forward to approximately 3:23. Here is a quoted portion transcribed from the video.

“Birth intervention, a lot of people are concerned, like ‘Oh, April’s taking too long, she’s a month past due, what are you going to do to intervene?’

“The timeline is obviously wrong a little bit at this point. And to elaborate on that, we observed the breeding behavior about mid-October. Now that does not mean that just because they bred they conceived. Just like any other animal and human, conception doesn’t occur each time. Thank God.

“So if anything, maybe we missed a cycle. Cycles are every 17 days. So maybe 17 days past what we thought will be the due date. Or if we missed that cycle it might be 34 days past that. What we have to base it on, what our vets base it on is physical conditions.”

The Animal Adventure Park holds several updates daily through a variety of mediums. First, there are morning and evening updates posted on Facebook that discuss April’s current condition and the calf’s activity, and they usually also include any relevant updates from Dr. Tim, the veterinarian who examines April daily. Viewers who watch the cam will notice when Dr. Tim steps into the stall and conducts an examination. It’s also common to see April’s handler, Allysa, spend many special moments bonding with April.

Here is a quote from the morning update for March 8, 2017. As you can see, April and the calf are progressing well, but there is nothing to indicate labor will begin imminently.

“3/8 Morning Update

“Good morning! The sun is shining and warm temperatures remain another day! The giraffes will enjoy yard time again today; IF they choose to go out.

“We do not know why last evenings update did not post, and also another email server has gone wacky – so we have talked to the Russian (tortoises) at the park – and they have ensured us – no interference with our platforms. No hack scandal here!

“April remains in great condition with no concerns from keepers or our vet team. Activity in the belly remains very visible to the eye – even through the web cam! Slow and steady – mother nature has everything timed right. Keepers will be in shortly and any change will warrant an update!”

https://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdventurePark/photos/a.248725055230381.37912.246833958752824/924144057688474/?type=3

April the Giraffe Kicks Vet

Those watching the live giraffe cam were in for a surprise when April displayed moody behavior. She seemed to have been a bit cranky, and during her examination, she kicked Dr. Tim. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt and all was well. Dr. Tim continues to examine April daily and has given her a clean bill of health. Unfortunately, there hasn’t been a specific due date given.

April the Giraffe: Labor Signs and Due Date

Dr. Tim’s examinations an Animal Adventure Park updates are the primary way viewers will know when April’s labor begins. There will be physical changes in April’s body and possible behavior changes that may indicate labor is soon approaching. Other than those, there is very little that will give warning April’s calf’s birth is underway. The most notable physical changes will be the appearance of hooves. Once hooves are seen, the Facebook live stream will broadcast a second angle of the birth in addition to the live giraffe cam hosted on YouTube.

With millions watching since February and hoping to see the baby giraffe born live online, it would be the perfect April Fool’s Day prank for April to have her baby during the first day of the month. What do you think? Can you wait that long for April’s calf to be born?

[Featured Image by Afishka/Shutterstock]