Pregnant Giraffe Finally Has Baby Boy

Kayla Saller, Reporter

Fifteen year old April the giraffe gave birth to a baby boy on April 15th, 2017.

    Animal Adventure Park has been providing a livestream video of a pregnant giraffe since March, according to clickondetroit.com. April, the previously pregnant giraffe, gave birth to her fourth calf after a month and a half of this livestream.

    While this is April’s fourth calf, Oliver, the father, is a first-time father at only five years old, according to nbcnewyork.com. Male giraffes typically begin mating at the age of seven years old.

    A full term of pregnancy for a giraffe is 15 months. April, however, is estimated to have been pregnant for about 18 months now. Some veterinarians say that it’s a possibility that they may have miscalculated the start of her pregnancy, though.

    “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,” said Jordan Patch, Animal Adventure Park owner, to express.co.uk.

    April received much encouragement from her fans. The first time I heard about April myself, it was due to a news report on a pregnant woman wearing a giraffe mask, telling her to take notes and just have her baby already. Websites have been created in dedication to April, found at aprilthegiraffe.com.

    A previous visitor to the site will notice that a new tab has been created on the website. The zoo is having the nation send in names and vote on their favorites at one dollar for five votes, according to wgntv.com. Wgntv.com reports that those proceeds will contribute to Ava’s Little Heroes and giraffe conservation efforts.

    Anyone interested in more information on April, her baby, or how they can help Animal Adventure park can find it at aprilthegiraffe.com.