Missing the days of being glued to a screen watching a female giraffe pace around her stall? Animal Adventure Park might have good news.
In a video posted on the park's Facebook page Tuesday afternoon, owner Jordan Patch said he had "pretty exciting news" to share with the world.
With the park's calf, Tajiri, who was born April 15, 2017 — and now stands just over 10 feet tall — venturing in and out of the camera shot behind him, Patch said, "We have some excited news today as we continue our journey."
Those samples, Patch said, will determine whether or not April is expecting another baby giraffe.
What happens now?
"Now here we are ready to ship them out to another zoo's laboratory for confirmation of a pregnancy," he said.
Asking Swilley what she thought the chances of a confirmed pregnancy were, the keeper wasn't ready to make a guess.
"We've done a lot of watching, a lot of looking, and we all have our opinions," she said, "but until we're 100 percent sure, I'm not saying anything."
According to a research article in Zoo Biology published in 1994, pregnancy can be confirmed through fecal sample by measuring the estrogen and progesterone concentrations.
Patch did not share how soon a confirmation could be expected, so until then, this giraffe family's adoring public will all just have to wait and see.
"Let today mark day one of this journey for a possible calf in 2019," he said.
April was cleared for another pregnancy in October 2017. The last time she was pregnant, the park's first posted update came and what was believed to be a year into her pregnancy — giraffe gestation period typically lasts 13 to 15 months.
In November 2017, Patch said they wouldn't be able to safely confirm a pregnancy until the six- to eight-month mark.
Keep an eye on these social media platforms for updates:
- Animal Adventure's Facebook page.
- @AnmlAdvntrPark on Twitter.
- Animal Adventure's live giraffe cam on YouTube
April's pregnancy in 2017 sparked worldwide frenzy, shining a spotlight on the park in Harpursville.
On April 15, 2017, April's calf, Tajiri, was born at 9:53 a.m. About 1.2 million viewers tuned in to see it happen, and around 800,000 viewers watched the park's Facebook Live video.
Since the start of the 2017 season, admission tripled, staff doubled and the world of possibility expanded with Patch's purchase of 115 acres of land sitting directly across from the park.
Its YouTube page now has 475,848 subscribers, and 1,707,752 follow the park's Facebook page — April and Tajiri even have their own Twitter accounts. There's April the Giraffe merchandise and social media groups dedicated to discussion of the trio of giraffes living at a park in Broome County.
Until a pregnancy is confirmed, we'll all continue to watch, and wait.
Follow Katie Sullivan Borrelli on Twitter @ByKatieSullivan.