Nearly 30,000 People in Real Time Are Awaiting the Birth of a Giraffe

This is no stretch of the imagination.

Nearly 30,000 people in real time were viewing an online “giraffe cam” that’s been set up via YouTube at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, at one point on Wednesday afternoon.

April the Giraffe, as she’s known, is 17 years old and is about to have a calf.

She’s expected to give birth sometime within the next few weeks.

This new calf will be her fifth overall and her second calf with Oliver, the male giraffe she lives with at the park, as Newsweek and others have also noted.

Nearly two years ago, she became famous around the world when she gave birth to a male calf.

Park officials have been monitoring her closely now and say she’s likely to have her new calf this month.

“The average [gestation period] for a giraffe is 15 months,” said the park owner, Jordan Patch, nearly two years ago, just before she had her earlier baby. “April likes to go 16, 17, 18 … 19 months.”

The livestream from one of April’s earlier births racked up more than 232 million live views and 7.6 billion minutes of live watch time.

Check out the live “giraffe web cam” below — and see the free-flowing notes and messages that those watching around the world are posting from “the loft” — their affectionate name for their comfortable online perch.

For more info on April the Giraffe, click here.

And to watch our video about April’s previous birth nearly two years ago, check out the video below: