By Associated Press
Finally.
After weeks of waiting, Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, N.Y., went live on Facebook Saturday morning to say the labor alert has gone out and the zoo’s team is assembling to assist in the birth.
April has been pregnant for about 16 months and for weeks people have been on the edge of their seats watching the zoo’s livestream, wondering when she’d finally go into labor.
April’s calf will be about 150 pounds and stand 6-feet-tall at birth.
Giraffes give birth while standing up, according to Animal Planet, meaning the calf takes a six-foot, head-first fall to the ground. The channel’s FAQ on giraffe births said the fall, “breaks the amniotic sac, severs the umbilical cord, and most importantly encourages the calf to take its first breaths.”
Once the calf is on the ground, Animal Channel explained, the mother cleans it off. The calf then takes its first steps in just a few minutes and is able to run by the end of its first day on Earth.