HARPUSVILLE — Well, the wait is over and April finally gave birth to a healthy male calf Saturday morning! April the giraffe gave birth at a New York zoo as more than a million people around the world watched live.
Now, the zoo needs help naming him!
The zoo said participants can “vote on any name or names” for the next 10 days. After those 10 days the zoo will reveal the top 10 most popular entries, and then open up voting on those names for an additional five days.
The votes aren’t free – they cost $1 each, with a minimum of 5 votes per person. There are also no limits to how many times each person can vote. The zoo says funds raised in this effort will go towards giraffe conservation efforts, Ava’s Little Heroes, and towards the Animal Adventure Park itself.
April, at 15 years old, delivered her calf Saturday in an enclosed pen at the zoo in Harpursville, a rural upstate village about 130 miles northwest of New York City.
At least 1.2 million people watched the Adventure Park’s YouTube stream.
This is April’s fourth calf, but Animal Adventure Park’s first giraffe calf. The proud papa is a 5-year-old giraffe named Oliver.
All reports are that the baby is healthy, with a height of 5’9″ and weighing 129 pounds.
The privately owned zoo began livestreaming from April’s enclosure in February. People around the world have been tuning in daily.
The zoo has also launched a GoFundMe campaign to offset the annual care of the giraffes and has also established a website for April.
April has her own website and even an apparel line.