HARPURSVILLE, NY -- An expectant mother has caught the attention of tens of thousands of people who have been watching and waiting for her delivery online.
April the giraffe has set the internet on fire as folks check in on her daily at her home at an animal park in New York.
“We`re probably right around that 15-month mark, so we`re do for a baby anytime,” said Allysa Swilley, the lead giraffe keeper at Animal Adventure Park in New York.
This 15-year-old giraffe named April is not only an expectant mother, she`s become an internet sensation.
When employees at Animal Adventure Park near Binghamton New York, where April lives, determined she was ready to give birth any day, they thought it would be a fun and educational thing to do to stream her live on YouTube 24/7 so people could watch when her baby is born.
“So, we had so many people asking, how`s she doing, how`s she`s doing. well the best way to get to the public is to just put up a live feed and they can watch her progress, watch what she does,” said Swilley.
Along with the live feed of April, the park also posted fun factoids about April, the baby`s father Oliver who lives with April and giraffes in general on that YouTube page.
But workers never expected April to go viral, drawing in tens of thousands of viewers daily.
Those numbers add up over the time when April`s YouTube site went live.
“Yeah, we`re a little shocked that it`s gotten as big as it had,” said Swilley. “So we thought we`re going to see a couple thousand viewers and that`s going to be awesome, next thing you know there are millions and millions of people watching this view.”
And because people kept wanting to donate money to help with the care of April's baby, the park set up a Go Fund Me account.
It's already receive more than $4,000 in just one day.
And it's clear in the community of Harpursville where April lives, there's a lot of love for the giraffe.
“Oh, it`s absolutely insane, everyone`s really enjoying it, especially the kids are having a good time watching the feed so everyone`s really excited,” said Jada Besaw.
“Oh yes, my sister watches it on her laptop thing, tablet,” said Ephram Rowe.
This will be April's fourth calf and her mate, Oliver will be a first time dad.
The petting zoo plans to hold a contest to name the newborn calf.