The Animal Adventure Park in New York is looking for new sponsors for April the Giraffe in the lead up to the webcast for the announcement of her calf’s name on Monday.
As reported by TMZ , April the Giraffe and Animal Adventure Park need funding to keep the live cam on and for the live webcast Monday, which thousands of viewers from around the world are looking forward to. The zoo will be accepting two sponsors to support their conservation efforts .
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The funds will be allotted for the upkeep of Animal Adventure Park, the Giraffe Conservation Fund, and Ava’s Little Heroes, which supports families “with unforeseen medical costs.” According to the voting page for April the Giraffe’s baby name, Ava’s Little Heroes is an annual event named after the daughter of Animal Adventure Park owner, Jordan Patch. Patch’s daughter has a rare form of epilepsy.
Mashable reported earlier this month that the official sponsor for the announcement could be “one lucky network.” Stephen Donnelly, Animal Adventure Park’s spokesman, told Mashable when April hadn’t given birth yet that a number of media networks are “vying to be the official group to release the calf’s name.”
The sponsor could also be you or your company, if you have money to spare for the cute occupants of Animal Adventure Park and its owner’s causes. You can also help the park and April the Giraffe in your own way by voting for the calf’s name. The countdown for the announcement of the chosen name begins tonight. Voting ends at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The second round of voting began at the beginning of this week, but you can still cast your votes for any of the top ten baby names. Just head over to www.nameaprilscalf.com and enter your name and email to proceed. Each vote costs a dollar, with a minimum of five.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, the top ten baby names are Allysa’s Choice (Allysa is one of April’s caretakers), Apollo, Geoffrey, Gio, Harpur, Noah, Ollie, Patch, Patches and Unity. According to the voting page, if Allysa’s Choice wins, the park will automatically defer to Allysa’s decision for the calf’s name.
The views for April the Giraffe’s live birth, which ran for some 15 minutes (the entire video is 30 minutes), currently stand at 14,700,812. According to TMZ , this makes the channel the second most live-viewed in history. The League of Legends eSports channel ranks number one. Toys R’ Us sponsored the viral live feed of the birth.
Those who are having livecam withdrawal can still tune in to the channel to view April and her young at 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET every Tuesday. This is just about the time when April and her newborn calf finally go back to their stall after a day outdoors.
Those who have questions for the Animal Adventure Park staff in New York can also check in with them from Sunday to Thursday at 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. on their YouTube channel’s live feed, according to the park’s Facebook page.
In case you’re wondering how April’s baby is doing, the calf is doing quite well and was recently featured in a Facebook image post on Saturday rubbing noses with his favorite handler, Allysa. The post includes a birthday greeting for Allysa.
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Another photograph posted on Saturday featured April nursing her calf. According to Animal Adventure Park, this was the first time that the two were outside. People who would like to receive access to April and her calf’s photos and videos can subscribe at www.aprilthegiraffealert.com and can count on receiving updates every Friday until May 31.
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April’s overdue pregnancy and birth have been a worldwide phenomenon, and some probably didn’t expect that the new star of a viral video would actually be a giraffe. When asked about his thoughts on why April the Giraffe went viral, Patch said he wasn’t surprised at the reception .
“People fell in love with April and we can’t blame them,” Patch told FOX 13 . “People became emotionally invested into her journey and her pregnancy and into the unborn calf.”
[Featured Image by Animal Adventure Park/ Facebook ]