April the giraffe gave birth again on Saturday, in front of another enthralled YouTube audience.
Two years ago, April drew more than 232m YouTube live views during a seven-week period before she gave birth to Tajiri.
That came as a surprise for the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, a small zoo 130 miles north-west of New York City, particularly when the feed was briefly interrupted for supposedly violating YouTube’s policy on nudity and sexual content.
This time, everything was rather more calm. The park said April gave birth to a healthy male calf around 12.45pm, as more than 300,000 viewers looked on.
Officials said the newborn giraffe, April’s fifth and her second with her current mate, Oliver, was on its feet by 1.27pm, and nursing by 1.51pm.
“Success! With an average 15-month gestation, we are thankful to have a healthy calf on the ground, nursing and bonding with mom,” the animal park owner Jordan Patch said. “With wild giraffe numbers plummeting annually, every calf born counts.”
A naming contest for the new calf will be held soon. Fans will be able to see the little one face to face when Animal Adventure Park opens for the season on 1 May.
Zoo officials said big brother Tajiri, meanwhile, is on his way to starting a family of his own. The park welcomed an adult female giraffe, known as Johari, in January.
