Community Chat

[Marp]

@ValuSkr, Oliver is kept separate primarily to keep him from fighting with April or trying to mate.

[Lila Belle]

Yes!

She's a beauty isn't she?

[ValuSkr]

While watching April, I switched to another video showing a giraffe being born at the Dallas Zoo in 2015.  It was amazing.  However, sad to say, the next video I watched was a Dallas news report from later that year saying the youngster had died after an accident.

[riley1]

Thank you for the link, @MJ12 - between April, the red tail hawks, eagles, etc. I'll never get anything done, lol.

[gidgetgh]

Ok.....April Needs to go ahead and have the baby now. This would be a good time for me, LOL. 

I've run all my errands for the day and am now in my recliner, on baby watch. 

[Marp]

@gidgetgh, I think she is pretty close.  If you note there is a big change in her belly sag today which means the calf is getting into position.  In a normal birth the front feet come out first followed by the nose.

[meallen616]

HARPURSVILLE, NY — The world has been watching with bated breath this week as April the Very Pregnant Giraffe grows rounder and rounder — and ever more ready to bless us with an adorable, miniature version of herself, albeit covered in goo — at the Animal Adventure Park petting zoo way in upstate New York.

April had yet to go into labor as of 4 p.m. Thursday.

[gidgetgh]

I'm watching this afternoon.  She was very antsy yesterday early evening. I was hoping she'd have the calf. 

Did anyone see her when her handler Alyssa went in last night?  It was really sweet. 

[Marp]

Off topic but relevant.

While the world waits for April the New York zoo giraffe to give birth on her controversial live stream, Kipele is pulling a Beyoncé and dropping surprises overnight.

On Feb. 28, the Denver Zoo giraffe gave birth to an unexpected baby boy, later named Dobby, without fanfare in the early morning.

The new arrival is a reticulated giraffe who measures 5-ft. tall and weighs 73 lbs., according to the Denver Post. As is common with giraffe calfs, Dobby was up and walking just a few minutes after he was born. Keepers say both he and Kipele are doing well.

“Staff was monitoring Kipele overnight when she went into labor,” said Brian Aucone, Denver Zoo senior vice president for Animal Care and Conservation, in a press statement. “Although the birth went well, the calf was not initially nursing. Staff fed the infant and provided critical care in his first hours of life to get him back on track. Now he’s nursing and we are feeling good about his health.”

The staff had to act fast to welcome Dobby into the world, since they weren’t expecting the baby giraffe. Keepers didn’t know Kipele was pregnant, and didn’t have reason to expect she was, since the 23-year-old new mom is the oldest giraffe at the zoo and is also on birth control.

“Dobby may not have been a planned birth, but now that he’s here, we’re excited to have him and look forward to him engaging with our guests,” Aucone added.

For now, mom and son are getting time to bond in private, out of public view in the zoo’s giraffe house.

Dobby is the first giraffe born at the zoo since 2010. Kipele carried the bundle of joy for 15 months and will spend the next six nursing her son. Dobby joins the zoo’s four other reticulated giraffes, which include his mom and his dad, Dikembe.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/pets-animals/denver-zoo-giraffe-pulls-a-beyonce-drops-a-surprise-...

[Bjjo]

I've been watching for 10 days now. I know more about geraffes than I ever thought possible as I've been reading on the internet. I love to watch Alyssa come by and tend to April from time to time. They have a great relationship. Such fun 😃🐯