Is The Famous ‘April The Giraffe’ Pregnant With Twins?
Animal Adventure Park in Haurpsville has announced that 17-year-old April the giraffe is pregnant again! Is she having twins this time?
The Giraffe Cam is up and running at Animal Adventure Park as April has proved (through lot's of testing) that she's expecting for the 5th time. Her pregnancy is a good thing as the park says giraffes need help:
- Giraffe numbers have declined by 40% in the last 30 years. Approximately 90,000 giraffes remain in the wild, estimation of only 1,200 in captive management programs.
- There are four species, nine total subspecies of Giraffe.
- We have already lost seven species to extinction.
- The giraffe is now listed as ‘vulnerable to extinction’ on the IUCN Red List.
- Giraffe populations are threatened by habitat destruction, human encroachment, pollution, and poaching.
As far as April having twins, odds are against it. The Little Things says twins are extremely rare for giraffes. Only 1out of 218,000 giraffes MAY have twins and only a few zoos in the world have them.
Here's an interesting report from Mom and Me:
Baby Numbers
- According to the San Diego Zoo, giraffes usually have only one baby at a time. In rare cases, they might have two.
Gestation and Birth
- Gestation for giraffes is between 425 and 465 days or about 15 months.
- There's no specific breeding season
- Mom gives birth standing up and will stay alone with the calf for about a week.
What the Baby is Like
- Babies weigh anywhere from 104 to 220 lbs and over 6 feet tall when born. If the calf was any smaller, the drop to the ground might hurt him.
- The babies are up and walking within minutes of being born.
I'll be watching and praying that April's new calf or calves will be born healthy.
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