FILE - In this April 15, 2017, file photo, provided by Animal Adventure Park in Binghamton, N.Y., a giraffe named April licks her new calf. People hoping to get an up-close look at April the giraffes baby born before a live stream audience will have to wait a little longer. Animal Adventure Park originally planned to open for the season this weekend, but delayed the date until Monday, May 15, because of cool and rainy conditions in the forecast. (Animal Adventure Park via AP, File) (Animal Adventure Park)
April the giraffe, who became an Internet craze during her last pregnancy in 2017, may be expecting another calf.
Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, N.Y., where the beloved 15-foot-tall giraffe is staying, announced on its Facebook page Tuesday that zoo staffers have been collecting April’s feces for a month to determine if she’s pregnant.
“For 30 days in a row, [staffers] sampled, or collected, a fecal specimen from April’s stall. It was stored in a plastic bag labeled with a date and an identifying number and put in a freezer storage,” a staff member explained.
The samples will be shipped to another zoo’s lab to confirm whether April is pregnant. The staffers did not provide reasons why they suspect the giraffe may be pregnant.
If the 16-year-old giraffe is pregnant, she will likely give birth in 2019.
April became a social media celebrity when the last few weeks of her pregnancy were livestreamed on YouTube, raking in more than 232 million views. More than a million people watched her gaving birth to her calf, Tajiri.
World waits, watches for April the giraffe to give birth
Julie Banderas reports from New York
Tajiri, whose father is a 6-year-old giraffe named Oliver, now stands 10 feet tall.
April has given birth to four calves, but Tajiri was the first born at Animal Adventure Park.
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