What to Know
- April has captivated tens of millions of people across the world who have been checking in on her via the live stream
- Giraffe pregnancies last up to 15 months; labor lasts anywhere from a few hours to a few days
- The calf will be the first born at Animal Adventure Park, and the zoo says it will hold a contest to name it once it arrives
As April the giraffe's belly grows ever larger, her highly anticipated calf has gotten quiet, leading zookeepers to wonder if this is the calm before the storm.
The giraffe calf caused a stir Friday when it launched a "judo chop marathon" inside its mother's belly but it calmed down significantly on Saturday.
April's keeper noted Sunday morning that she's showing "notable bulges" on the left side of her belly, the zoo reported on its Facebook page.
Watch the live stream below.
April has been taking it slow Sunday, alternating between waddling around her pen and standing still, staring into Oliver's pen.
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The snow has cleared so April and her beau Oliver may go outside soon, the zoo said.
The zoo said that April's belly growth has been mind-blowing. She has to fit a 6-foot, 150-pound calf somewhere, it said. Eventually, it has to come out, right?
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When April goes into labor, the baby's front hooves will be the first to come out, followed by the snout, the zoo says.
Mom will naturally raise the calf on her own, and weaning could take between six to 10 months, maybe even longer -- the zoo says it won't rush the process. Once weaning is over, the baby giraffe will move on to another facility to start a breeding program there.
"We cannot retain offspring, as it would lead to incestuous mating and undermine the genetics of the program and species," the zoo says on its YouTube page.
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This is 15-year-old April's fourth calf. Her younger, 5-year-old mate Oliver, however, is about to welcome his very first. He won't take any part in rearing the calf, though. Male giraffes, called bulls, really only care about two things, the zoo says: "fighting and the unmentionable."
"He is a bull -- and a bull is a bull is a bull!" the zoo says.
April's pregnancy was catapulted into global headlines late last month after YouTube briefly yanked the zoo's stream following complaints by animal activists that it violated the site's policies concerning "nudity and sexual content." Thousands upon thousands of commenters voiced their frustration on Facebook and YouTube, and the stream was restored within an hour or so.
Jordan Patch, owner of the Animal Adventure Park, says the natural curiosity surrounding giraffes and their birthing process has been a huge factor in drawing crowds.
"I think the fact that she's a giraffe and she's a neat species that people are interested in, that's fostered a lot of the attention," he said. "The fact that you're gonna get to witness the miracle of birth from an animal that you really don't get to see give birth — that's neat."
He added that April's pregnancy is not just live entertainment, but a teachable moment and source for education. This is the zoo's first giraffe calf.
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Giraffe pregnancies last up to 15 months. Labor lasts anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The calf, which will be the first born at Animal Adventure Park, will be about 150 pounds and 6 feet tall at birth and up and walking in about an hour.
The zoo said it will hold an online competition to name the baby giraffe once it's born.
