April, the mama giraffe, gave birth with a million people watching live. (Image Credit: Instagram/animaladventurepark)
So, I got up on Saturday morning, got myself a cup of coffee, opened Facebook and was almost immediately rewarded with a live image of a giraffe in the middle of giving birth.
Literally. In the middle. Calf partly out of mama giraffe’s body. Before I’d had more than a sip of my coffee. Good morning!
My own alarm at the visuals aside, the internet was delighted to see that Mama April, the world’s most famous pregnant giraffe, finally gave birth to her much-anticipated calf this weekend. April, a resident of the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, has been on baby-watch since back in February, when the Animal Park alerted us that the calf was imminent.
The calf was not imminent. The baby didn’t arrive until weeks after the initial flurry of livened notoriety. But the time was used wisely, to produce some of the funniest memes in the history of pregnant mega-fauna. My personal favorite was a pregnant human who photographed herself in a giraffe mask before and after the birth of her own child — who arrived well before April’s.
That’s why there was much rejoicing this weekend, when the new calf made his long-awaited appearance. The staff at the Animal Park has confirmed that the baby is a boy. He weighed 129 pounds and was 5'9".
No name for the little guy yet. But anyone who wants to make a suggestion can do so on the Animal Park’s website. It costs a dollar for one entry, with the proceeds being divided between giraffe conservation efforts, the Animal Park itself, and a foundation for families coping with epilepsy.
You can only enter until the 25th, so hurry up with those name ideas!
