April the Giraffe

[artiemom]

Hey all!

Just wanted to know if anyone is watching April the Giraffe??

She is pregnant and about to give birth. There is a live web cam in her pen. It is on 24/7 

I just find this amazing.. although I love Giraffes.

 

[margd]

Yay, April.!  Yes, I'm watching.  Her baby is so late.  Every morning I check in expecting to see an adorable calf toddling around after its mama.

You are not the only one who adores giraffes.  I am absolutely nuts about them.

Here is the video from the cam.  It can get a bit tedious at times but I don't mind because I still get to look at giraffes..

 

[artiemom]

I am always checking out April. The other night I was watching the baby kick her.. It was pretty cool. 

Over the week-end, it seems her belly has gotten so much larger. It used to look like a basketball belly, now it looks like a watermelon is hanging... yes, back to the food group designations!!

I wonder if Giraffes mate for life. Last night, I was watching her and her partner cuddle each other for a while.. They were rubbing faces and necks for a long time.. almost as if they were caressing each other. 

 

[margd]

I saw April and Ole Whatshisname cuddling, too!  So cute.  Whathishame is actually named Oliver and if he had any choice over the matter, he wouldn't be monogamous at all.  He would have an entire herd of females to mate with while the younger male giraffes looked on in envy.  At least this way he won't have to worry about one of those whippersnappers challenging and killing him.

I wonder if they ever perform C sections on giraffes?  She has been overdue for so long that I read that some people now suspect her pregnancy is a hoax.

 

[Willowy]

Maybe she's not overdue and they just left her with the bull for awhile, so they don't know when she conceived. Idk if all zoos keep careful track of that or if some just put the males and females together and let it happen naturally.

 

[margd]

Maybe she's not overdue and they just left her with the bull for awhile, so they don't know when she conceived. Idk if all zoos keep careful track of that or if some just put the males and females together and let it happen naturally.

For some reason I can't find the article, but I read yesterday about April and it sounds like they know exactly when she and Oliver mated and when she was due.  Still looking for it....

EDIT:  This source says April was tentatively due in mid-February which supports your idea that they don't really know when she conceived. 

 

[Norachan]

How exciting! It does look as if she is straining a bit now......hard to tell with giraffes though.

 

[margd]

Alice is still wandering around her stall looking like a spotted blimp.  I wonder if vets ever have to perform C-sections on giraffes whose pregnancies go on for too long.  Hopefully, we'll see a sweet "little" calf soon.   That will at least give April something to do.  The more I watch her, the more I pity both her and Oliver.  What boring lives they lead, just pacing around their stalls.  I know they have an outside enclosure but somehow I doubt that it consists of acres of tall grasses interspersed with acacia trees.  

 

[Norachan]

Yeah, even their outdoor enclosure looks pretty boring for them.

Still no calf. April is lying down now. I always wondered what giraffes did with their necks when they sleep.

 

[artiemom]

I am really addicted to watching April.  I keep checking up on her, either from my phone or my laptop. I find it calming. 
 

I have seen her and Olive cuddle! It is so sweet. They caress each other and appear to give each other kisses! 

It is funny, but I do not think the zoo has any idea how to handle a giraffe pregnancy; which is pretty poor. They started the Video feed, expecting a birth in February. It is now April, and she still has not given birth. I keep looking at her belly. 

It has enlarged immensely over the weekend, and in the subsequent days, however the baby does not seem to be moving down into position. She is still carrying fairly high. 

I do see a lot of movement, which is good. April seems to stop at times when it is strong, perhaps a contraction? Last night I saw her picking up her left leg a bit. Wonder if the baby is sitting on a nerve?

But what do I know??? I am only association her behavior with that of humans....

 

[sivyaleah]

 
Alice is still wandering around her stall looking like a spotted blimp.  I wonder if vets ever have to perform C-sections on giraffes whose pregnancies go on for too long.  Hopefully, we'll see a sweet "little" calf soon.   That will at least give April something to do.  The more I watch her, the more I pity both her and Oliver.  What boring lives they lead, just pacing around their stalls.  I know they have an outside enclosure but somehow I doubt that it consists of acres of tall grasses interspersed with acacia trees.  

OMG This!

I just discovered the feed a couple of days ago.  The first thing that struck me is how utterly boring it must be for them to be cooped up they way they are.  The older I get the less I like any kind of confinement for wild animals. Zoos just make me sad.

FYI I read up on giraffes and their relationships.  Basically male giraffes only like to fight, eat and have sex.  They have nothing to do with the babies.  

 

[margd]

This my idea of the almost perfect home.  All that's missing are the cats.   Meanwhile, poor April paces her stall going out of her mind with boredom and suffering the kicks of Junior or Juniorette.  C'mon little calf - your fan club awaits you! 

D_U1kQdQGcsNgR8S_JoI8X-PLnSJQ9fpRekiabSTCoSavViwXC

• margd
• Apr 5, 2017

 

[AbbysMom]

I can not believe this giraffe hasn't given birth yet!

 

[artiemom]

There really messed up her conception date, thus her due date.. The baby has not even dropped into the birth canal.. It has not even changed it's position.. I really wonder how much Vet experience they do have, concerning giraffes.. 

I am equating this to human babies.. 

What I had seen as posts indicating 'contractions' being seen, I was attributing it to just the baby moving, and kicking.. They said contractions??? 

From what I can see of vet exams, it consists of them just coming in, taking a picture of her udders, her bum, perhaps seeing if they can feel the baby (sometimes) and feeding April carrots.. 

I really do not know what else they can be doing, but.. somehow it does not seem enough..

I feel bad for April. She is penned in that tiny area. I know she had the opportunity to go out, last week. They opened the door, and she refused, but she seems so isolated, imprisoned in her little stall, and isolated..

perhaps that was the idea. 

I saw Oliver, running in and out of his stall, yesterday afternoon. If they leave April's door open, maybe she could get some company, fresh air, and sunlight.. making her feel a bit more comfortable...

but what do I know.. I am not a zookeeper!!

I feel bad for April...

 

[margd]

I also feel very sad for April.  I keep a tab with her feed on it open and every time I look at it, she is just standing still or pacing.  It no longer looks like a stall to me.  It looks like a jail cell.  Poor April.  She needs to be out running in the fields and kicking up her heels in tall grasses.  Oliver needs to be with her, both of them running free as the wind.

 

[artiemom]

I know. I have seen both April and Oliver cuddling, several times... sigh....

I think the zoo is afraid of trampling the baby.. but, honestly! Keeping April confined as much as she is, makes her depressed. If she could at least have some sun and fresh air and perhaps a run in the yard.. that may do a world of good for her. 

 

[margd]

Oh, April, poor darling - every time I check in on you, you are just aimlessly pacing around your cell.  The zoo says she has things to entertain her in there out of view of the camera but she never seems to use them.  If we cat people were in charge, that cell would be full of giraffe toys and places to rub her back and neck and interesting things to look at.  Maybe....a window?  Do they ever play music for April and Oliver?   The more I watch this, the more it hurts my heart.  I know it's easy for me to sit here and criticize but the longer this goes on, the more anti-zoo I get. 

 

[margecat]

 
There really messed up her conception date, thus her due date.. The baby has not even dropped into the birth canal.. It has not even changed it's position.. I really wonder how much Vet experience they do have, concerning giraffes.. 

I am equating this to human babies.. 

What I had seen as posts indicating 'contractions' being seen, I was attributing it to just the baby moving, and kicking.. They said contractions??? 

From what I can see of vet exams, it consists of them just coming in, taking a picture of her udders, her bum, perhaps seeing if they can feel the baby (sometimes) and feeding April carrots.. 

I really do not know what else they can be doing, but.. somehow it does not seem enough..

I feel bad for April. She is penned in that tiny area. I know she had the opportunity to go out, last week. They opened the door, and she refused, but she seems so isolated, imprisoned in her little stall, and isolated..

perhaps that was the idea. 

I saw Oliver, running in and out of his stall, yesterday afternoon. If they leave April's door open, maybe she could get some company, fresh air, and sunlight.. making her feel a bit more comfortable...

but what do I know.. I am not a zookeeper!!

I feel bad for April...

They say their entire enclosure (which I guess we don't see much of) is over 1600 square feet.  My house is 1632 square feet, for reference.

They can't put them together for long--they fear that Oliver, being a bull, may harm her and/or the unborn calf.

They do open the enclosure to the outside, but lately, she's not shown any interest in going out, though Oliver does.  Remember, they are in a cold climate, and letting them out (it snowed the other day, too) could be dangerous for them, being from a much warmer climate.

 

[artiemom]

April is giving BIRTH... right now!!!! Happy Birthday, little one!!