Oh, baby! April the giraffe delivers her long-awaited calf
The baby giraffe, whose mom has been a web star for months, is born safely at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York.
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It's a giraffe!
April the pregnant giraffe is finally April the no-longer-pregnant giraffe, after the star of the online world's favorite livestream finally gave birth in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 15.
Labor began around 7:30 a.m. ET/4:30 a.m. PT Saturday. Giraffe calves slide out of their standing mothers and fall several feet to the ground. But the calf was uninjured and got up on its wobbly legs within an hour or so. Later in the day, Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, where April lives, announced the calf is a boy.
A live webcam in April's pen went online Feb. 22, and thousands of fans have been watching April during the last weeks of her 15-month pregnancy. With the birth, the number of visitors topped 500,000.
"We're going to let mom and baby do their thing for a little bit," park owner Jordan Patch announced on Facebook Live shortly after the birth, according to USA Today. "Perfect delivery, perfect fall."
If you were asleep and need to get caught up on the birth, you'll be glad to know the park took to its Facebook page to publish numerous photos and videos of the new baby and the birth in progress, including one of the hooves emerging from mama April, the one sign that giraffes are in labor.
This is the fourth calf for April, age 15, and the first for daddy Oliver, who is age 5. The park has said it will hold a contest to name the baby. But don't go suggesting Giraffey McGiraffeface now.
The calf was expected to weigh around 150 pounds (68 kilograms) and be about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall at birth.
When the calf was born, livecam sponsor Toys R Us, which has a giraffe for a mascot, slyly switched the logo on the feed to Babies R Us, the name of its baby-gear shop.
The calf arrived on the day income taxes are traditionally due in the US (though this year they're due on April 18). So get your tax-related names ready for the eventual online naming contest. Hello there, Little 1040EZ, you're so cute.
First published April 15 at 8:28 a.m. PT
Update, 10:20 a.m. PT: Adds gender of April's baby giraffe.
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