April the Giraffe at the Animal Adventure Park in New York will give birth soon, and zoo fans are brimming with excitement.
On March 12, Animal Adventure Park posted on its Facebook page an update of the pregnant giraffe's status, showing a photo of the giraffe's wax caps. These usually develop on the teats to ensure that colostrum is kept in the pregnant giraffe's udder for nursing her newborn babies. These wax caps are removed before the delivery.
"April continues to be in great condition...Significant baby/belly movement this early morning (3-4am) and again around 7 am," the zoo wrote.
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Apart from regular updates regarding April the giraffe's condition, the Animal Adventure Park also has a live stream video of the animal so fans can see her giving birth. See the live stream video below.
The giraffe cam of the zoo is in its third week now but there's still no signs of labor. Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park, told Express that April the giraffe is actually past full term.
"The timeline is obviously wrong a little bit wrong. We observed breeding behaviour in about mid-October (2015). It does not mean just because they bred, they conceived," Patch said. “If anything, maybe we missed a cycle. Cycles are every 17 days, so maybe 17 days past what we thought was the due date. Or maybe 34 days after that.”
Giraffes' gestation period are longer than humans at 14 to 15 months. They give birth to calves while standing to avoid breakage of the amniotic sac. April the giraffe is 15 years old and has given birth to three calves in the past.
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