More than 1 million people watched live today as April the giraffe finally gave birth to a healthy giraffe calf at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York earlier today. Curious fans of April watched on as she delivered and then cleaned up her newest offspring. Fans found out just a couple of hours later that April's fourth giraffe calf is a bouncing baby boy. The next step that April fans are excited about will be the naming of the brand new giraffe.
Fans are able to see live giraffe birth and aftercare
At about 7:30 this morning, April the Giraffe's keeper Jordan Hatch announced excitedly that the big moment was finally here.
Staffers at the Animal Adventure Park have been teasing their fans for weeks with new reports that April was about to have her baby and that labor could start at any minute. News that the infamous giraffe was about to give birth had been circulating since late February and many who followed the interesting pregnancy news were starting to wonder if she was even really pregnant.
Well, after 471 days of pregnancy, give or take considering that the AAP didn't know April's exact date of conception and she was bred on three different occasions with Oliver, who lives in an area behind her, the world watched as April finally gave birth.
April has a boy, what will he be named?
April the giraffe fans who signed up and paid $3.99 for text alerts from the Animal Adventure Park learned before everyone else that the now-famous giraffe gave birth to a little boy.
His father Oscar can be seen in the background of the AAP live cams looking like a proud giraffe dad.
Prior to April giving birth, it was announced by the Animal Adventure Park that her faithful fans will be involved in the naming of the new giraffe calf. With Toys R Us involved in the whole process, even advertising on the AAP live cam, it's a given that they will be involved.
Now fans of April and her baby giraffe are anticipating the announcement of the Animal Adventure Park's naming Contest. They have been teasing for weeks that someone would help name it. It's still unclear exactly how the contest will work or when a name will be chose. Those who are interested in participating should definitely keep following the park's Twitter feed and stay tuned for more information.
It also might be a good idea to make a list of suggested baby names for when the time comes to play. Several other April the giraffe fans have already been throwing out name suggestions with some of the most popular being inspired by Greek gods. Another fan of the live giraffe birth suggested they name the new baby "Truman" after "The Truman Show" since everyone has been intently watching and waiting while the giraffes don't even realize that they are famous.
What do you think the Animal Adventure Park should name April the giraffe's new baby boy? Leave your suggestions in the comments section below.
