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Anyone watching April the giraffe??

5K views 77 replies 9 participants last post by  eegreen 
#1 · (Edited)
More than 79,000 folks are watching the Animal Adventure Park Giraffe Cam Live Feed right at this moment (9:08 PM MT)


I’m tempted to start a birth pool. LOL

Pick a date and time, anyone????

I haven’t figured out what the prize will be, however :D
 
#3 ·
Link, please? :2smile:
 
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#4 · (Edited)
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClnQCgFa9lCBL-KXZMOoO9Q/live

I just heard about her and started watching a bit yesterday, but apparently she’s been quite the internet hit since Feb. 22nd when the cam was set up. No one knows exactly when she got pregnant (giraffes are prego for 15 months!), but her tentative due date was originally set for mid-February.

April the Giraffe's Appetite 'Remains Strong' as Calf Calms Down, Zoo Says | NBC New York

I didn’t know how much giraffes just stand around....


Meme via facebook/newsday
 
#7 ·
Every night I look at her and I could swear she's been having some contractions (last night, for example), but then in the day.....she just stands around. I’ve got her bookmarked and just bop over there from time to time. Kinda fun in a way to know that there are folks all over watching her at the same time I am--poor thing, no privacy at all. :)
 
#9 ·
dang cannot view her on this gadget, gonna have to boot up the big computer later.

Has the calf dropped yet or is it still sitting high up in the loin area?

For you giraffe butt watchers.... Has the flesh on either side of the base of her tail sunk in yet?

Hugz to April.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Still pregnant.

They said she had dropped by Saturday, at least; that the calf had been very active up to and past that time, but had settled down recently (a day or two ago) and that they would expect that might be a precursor to birth. At that time, they reported wax caps still in place on nipples?

But they’ve been running on “who know when” since late February, because of not knowing exactly when the pregnancy “took”. Imagine, 15 months pregnant! And they say that because giraffes are so good at hiding the early stages of labor, they don’t even say that labor has started until they see feet showing.

Haven’t noticed her tail area changing, except that she looks “bulgy” in her vulval area. But it has been that way, sometimes more, sometimes less, since Saturday when I started the birth watch.

I’ve been checking in on her off and on since then--she alternates standing around at night with walking around her stall (slowly--that’s what they seem to do anyway), neck down, tail lifted, legs spread sometimes (they give birth standing up) looking uncomfortable, like labor could be starting (4th calf, so I imagine it should go quickly--supposedly maybe even as short 20-30 minutes or so), but then during the day she eats and chews cud and looks perfectly comfortable.

So we wait...and some of us stare :)
 
#15 ·
Very pregnant things evoke feelings......

Giraffes are awkward looking as they lie down under the best of conditions, but every time she lies down, she slowly lowers herself down to her knees, carefully folding her legs underneath herself one at a time, and then WHUMP! flops over to rest her belly on the ground.

I can remember feeling a bit like a beached whale myself at that stage. And I didn’t have impossibly long legs to deal with.

And then I wonder how in the world she’ll get up again.
 
#16 ·
Well, I finally tuned into the "April Giraffe" baby watch steaming cam....:popcorn:
(Along with 135K other watchers!)

I came over from the "Empty Nest" thread, still hoping Stryker P. would put up a "Baby Chick Cam", but my patience ran out! :laugh:

Watching the Giraffe cam is interesting, but reminds me of watching live World Cup Soccer.

Too bad they can't do like World Cup, where later in the evening each day, in the US, a condensed version of the games was rebroadcast, so one can watch a 90 min game in about 15 min. Sorry, I'm so impatient!

Seriously Though- Has anyone watched a Giraffe giving birth before, and are there any precursors we should be looking for to indicate the time is close?
 
#17 ·
Apparently giraffes hide signs of labor well, so they don’t call it labor until the hooves show...and I guess that’s a rather obvious sign to look for.

I agree with you about soccer...only I don’t think I’d even watch a condensed version. Never having played the game, I guess I don’t understand the finer points of its strategy, or what plays are absolutely amazing, unless the announcers tell me.
 
#18 ·
What you should know if you're watching April the giraffe | 12NEWS.com

"Patch explained that it's not very likely that you will be able to tell April's labor until you see an actual hoof begin to poke out of her rear-end. Giraffe's instinctively hide their labor for however long it's lasting in order to not draw attention from predators who will wait out a giraffe's labor in order to attack once the calf is born. "

" But Patch explains there are certain signs he looks for that he believes are her contractions. That's movement in the hips, straightening of the neck and her stomach movement which is the calf moving inside. "
 
#59 ·
#19 ·
April is positively waddling around her enclosure. Her hindquarters sure look a lot wider than they did a week or two ago.

Question for you farming folks :)

Do various ruminants continue to eat and chew cud as the labor starts and advances? In other words, if I bop in to see April and she is wandering around grabbing some hay or standing there chewing cud--do I have to bother to closely examine her for signs of impending labor? :)
 
#25 · (Edited)
Just got on the cam--April looks different to me--tail a little arched, hips tipped forward a litlle?? (man her butt is bigger than it was a week or two ago...but it’s not nice to say that about a lady.)

And she arches her back and sorta skwunches together from time to time.

Head still up and she’s chewing cud though.

Hmmm..............
 
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