As you may know by now, Good Morning America on ABC 12 has finally been named as the official partner for the announcement of April the Giraffe’s calf name. However, die-hard fans who can’t get enough of April, Oliver, and Baby G, are at each other’s throat, albeit online, especially in regard to how to view the long-awaited announcement, and who gets to know the calf name first, as one who has read the announcement and its Facebook comment section could attest.
In particular, some text alert subscribers are convinced that they should have first access to the news of Baby G’s name. Animal Adventure Park staff would certainly hate to break it to their fans, but they haven’t made any claims about text subscribers learning the news first and would probably refrain from doing so as any logical company with a gargantuan fan base would.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdventurePark/photos/a.248725055230381.37912.246833958752824/973911779378368/?type=3&theater
A Facebook user echoed this on the comment thread for the announcement, explaining that it defeats the purpose of the voting and would sacrifice the element of surprise. After all, keeping people guessing is what keeps the hype up for the event, which ultimately contributes to raising awareness not just for April the Giraffe, but also for the other adopted animals at Animal Adventure Park. The efforts also support the causes that its owner, Jordan Patch, promotes. The Facebook user’s comment can be read below.
“AAP has never said that text subscribers (me being one of those) would be notified of Baby G’s name before anyone else. 1st: it’s unfair to those who voted. 2nd: It would totally defeat the ‘surprise’ factor tomorrow. 3rd: After 8am tomorrow the name will go viral, the world will know his name and a new conflict can be begin.”
ABC 12, the home channel of Good Morning America , has been straightforward about its sponsorship for the announcement of the calf’s name. They issued a straightforward press release regarding the announcement at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, detailing its schedule and where it will take place at Animal Adventure Park.
“A name has been chosen for the calf at the Animal Adventure Park. Millions watched a livestream for weeks, waiting for his mother April to give birth. The calf’s name will be revealed Monday morning during the 8 a.m. hour of Good Morning America on ABC12. The announcement will be made from the Giraffe Barn at the New York park.”
Animal Adventure Park is yet to announce whether it will livestream the event on its YouTube channel and other social media platforms. Those who do not have access to cable TV may have to wait for an archive footage or watch out for a possible live stream on ABC 12’s live stream feed . Facebook fans of April the Giraffe and the gang speculate that the announcement will be shown on Facebook Live, as the park always does with April’s playtime with her young calf, but details are yet to emerge as to whether it will indeed happen.
https://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdventurePark/photos/a.248725055230381.37912.246833958752824/973653569404189/?type=3&theater
For now, fans can keep their eyes peeled for further updates on Facebook, or through text alerts sent by Animal Adventure Park. The park said that they recently did not send out a text alert on Friday, although it did update its content library for subscribers. “A text was NOT sent Friday to tell you the content was in the library. The last text alert was sent 4/17; however the content library is updated weekly,” the park said in a Facebook comment. Animal Adventure Park also has an explanation for the lack of text alert on its support page.
“Since April has had her calf there is no urgent need to send an actual text message. They are expensive for AAP and since they are only 160 characters not much can be said in a text anyway. As a better alternative all of the content will be at contents.aprilthegiraffealert.com.”
Fans can also relive the moments in which April the Giraffe was seen nursing her young at the Giraffe Barn on Tuesday. You can watch it in the video below.
The park has revealed that it will honor the popular vote in the announcement. The top ten finalists for the calf name were Allysa’s Choice, Apollo, Geoffrey, Gio, Harpur, Noah, Ollie, Patch, Patches, and Unity.
[Featured Image by Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/dpa/ AP Images]