April, a 15-year-old giraffe at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York had her fourth calf on April 15 – and the world was along for the ride.
You can watch the live stream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dz_errIBq3Y
This little blessing should weigh around 150 pounds and be about 6 feet tall at birth.
Fun fact: Giraffes give birth standing up – and when they’re born, the calf falls about 5 feet to the ground. So basically, next time you see your mom, thank her for not birthing you like this…. (unless you’re a giraffe -- and if you are a giraffe, please email webteam@9news.com and tell us how you learned to read!).
Giraffes stand within 30 minutes of birth – and can run around several hours later. In case you've never met a human baby, we don't do that.
Giraffe pregnancies last about 15 months. However, due to the long gestation period, giraffe pregnancy can be difficult to detect early on and are often times not confirmed until birth, according to Woodland Park Zoo animal care staff.
The world’s giraffe birth-watching community had a brief scare on Thursday morning when YouTube removed the stream because it was flagged for nudity and sexual content by animal rights groups.
The park was displeased with this decision, and took to Facebook Live to defend the educational purpose of the stream.
But obviously, this story isn’t about humans: it’s about April, and her journey into motherhood.
Like the rest of the world, we’re eagerly holding our collective breathes, praying for a healthy baby and mom.
Good luck, April!
9NEWS sister station KING 5 in Seattle contributed most of the giraffe facts to this report.