April the Giraffe 'at the end of the pregnancy,' say zookeepers
April, the pregnant giraffe that has captivated tens of thousands of YouTube viewers, is close to giving birth, say zookeepers at New York state's Animal Adventure Park.
April, the pregnant giraffe that has captivated tens of thousands of YouTube viewers, is close to giving birth, say zookeepers at New York state's Animal Adventure Park.
The wait may soon be over for a mother-to-be giraffe and her millions of human admirers.
More than a month overdue, April, the 15-year-old giraffe, has started to show signs that she is聽close to giving birth, zookeepers at New York state鈥檚 Animal Adventure Park said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.聽
A successful baby giraffe birth would be a first for the park and the second in the United States in a matter of weeks, after the Denver Zoo in Colorado delivered a male named Dobby on Feb. 28.
The baby giraffe in waiting,聽April鈥檚 fourth and her mate Oliver鈥檚 first calf, is expected to weigh around 150 pounds and stand about 6 feet tall at birth, according to the park officials. Its name will be decided in an online competition, the park said.聽
The pregnant giraffe has captured global attention in recent weeks, as millions have tuned into the park鈥檚 YouTube livestream of April in her enclosed pen with Oliver nearby since it went online at the end of February.
Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park in rural Harpursville, N.Y., views the livestream video as an educational tool.
鈥淏y bringing awareness,鈥� of these animals, Mr. Patch said in a Facebook Live video, 鈥渨e can bring conservation and preservation to giraffes in the wild.鈥�
These world鈥檚 tallest mammals were reclassified as 鈥渧ulnerable鈥� by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species in December 2016,聽mostly due to habitat loss.
Usually found in dry savanna zones south of Africa鈥檚 Sahara desert, giraffes were previously labeled in the 鈥渓east concern鈥� category. Yet, with populations聽diminishing nearly 40 percent over the past 30 years to nearly 100,000 individuals, biologists warned that the tallest land animal is at risk of extinction.
The status of giraffes might be even more dire, say scientists who recently discovered that one population of giraffes thought to be a single species, were in fact four distinct subspecies.
鈥淭his changes the status of the giraffe in terms of how endangered they are,"聽Axel Janke, a geneticist at the Senckenberg Biodiversity who conducted the new research, told 海角大神鈥檚 Eva Botkin-Kowacki in September.聽
Researchers hope this revelation could transform how conservation efforts view giraffes and help shape new strategies.聽
This report includes material from the Associated Press and Reuters.