April baby for April the giraffe; Text alert system announced

HARPURSVILLE, New York (WTXF/WTVT) - April 1 has come and gone, and the giraffe was still pregnant, but her vet and zoo keepers at Animal Adventure Park say active labor could come at any minute.

Rumors of an April Fool's Day joke swirled early Saturday morning when the park's live stream went down. The park said its internet connectivity issues were due to snowfall at the park.

In a Facebook post Saturday evening, the park outside Binghamton, NY, acknowledged workers thought an April Fool's Day baby would be the perfect way to start a new chapter with April, Oliver and baby, but it seemed April might make us all wait one more day.

On Saturday morning, Animal Adventure Park said the vet was onsite and April "continues to be out of normal behavior," like leg-lifting, pinning her ears back, and raising her tail. According to the park, these are all signs April is experiencing contractions.

In the park's Saturday afternoon update, keepers reported April's appetite was down, but she was sill accepting her favorite treat - carrots. April also accepted some lettuce from her favorite keeper, Alyssa on Saturday evening before it was time for lights-out in the stalls.

In the Saturday evening update, Animal Adventure Park said it had finally secured a text alert system after the first vendor did not pan out. Hundreds of thousands have tuned in to watch April and wait for her baby to arrive, and an alert system may help ease people's fears of missing the live event. Anyone interested in getting those alerts can sign up at www.ApriltheGiraffeAlert.com.

Meanwhile, AAP said," Our big girl is comfortable, confident, and continues to keep her composure - better than the rest of us!"

In the face of many hoax and fake accounts being created to capitalize on April fever, the park continues to remind watchers of April and Oliver that the official live stream for the park is available at www.ApriltheGiraffe.com.