Baby giraff

I watched April as the giraffe cam streamed live video of her baby giraffe being born.  I've been watching the cam for several weeks along with thousands of other interested persons.  April kept us guessing about the birth day.  She fooled us several times, but she finally gave birth to the baby Saturday morning, the 15th of the month she's named for. 

I took note of the persons watching at the beginning of the birth process; it went from 831,252 people to 1,248,859 people when the baby was actually born.  It was fascinating to watch the baby's effort to stand.  After a few tries, it managed to get all four legs working enough to take a wobbly stance.  As it became more confident, it took a few steps.

It wasn't long before April and her baby began nosing each other to start the bonding process.  The mother giraffe very gently nosed the baby close to her body.  As the minutes went by, the baby became more steady and it wasn't long before the baby was circling around and walking underneath the mother.  It was difficult to tell if the baby was nursing, but after some time, the baby started leaving the mothers side, then coming back to stand near her. 

The baby is boy and there will be a contest to name the baby.