What to Know
- April the Giraffe captivated millions as they waited and watched for months in anticipation of the birth of her 4th calf in 2017
- Now, the upstate zoo she calls home expects her to deliver her fifth calf any day now
- Of course, you never know -- her last pregnancy stretched on for so long that people began to wonder if she was even pregnant at all
The owner of New York's Animal Adventure Park, the upstate zoo made famous by the sensational fourth pregnancy of the now-iconic April the Giraffe, says the delivery of her fifth baby is "imminent" -- and vowed early Wednesday to "wipe egg from my face" if her latest pregnancy stretches into next month.
The vet who checked out the long-necked, spotted beauty found all indications pointing to the fact "we are 'there'" as far as delivery day, zoo owner Jordan Patch said. "Now, of course, 'there' could be hours, a day or so, perhaps ... so I'll take the blame here and say -- things are looking 'imminent.'"
"What I will promise, it won't be two months of waiting!" Patch added in the Facebook update posted Wednesday morning. "Should we hit April 1st -- I will literally wipe egg from my face!"
April's 2017 pregnancy was vaulted into international headlines after YouTube yanked a livestream of her giraffe stall, citing nudity that violated its terms of service. After mass protests, the stream was restored -- and millions of people started watching April daily, waiting for her "imminent" labor to begin.
That wait stretched on for weeks and weeks, leading people to wonder if the giraffe actually was pregnant at all. She was -- and she delivered her fourth baby, Tajiri, on April 15, 2017, as hundreds of thousands watched online.
Tajiri was the first calf for Oliver, April's handsome but much younger mate. Oliver is also the father of the calf-to-be.
Giraffe pregnancies usually last about 15 months, but Patch said, "April likes to go 16, 17, 18, 19 ..." -- you remember.
