As April the giraffe's calf grows, so will park they call home
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. — In the few days since its famous birth, April the giraffe's new calf hit its first two milestones: the beginning wobbly steps and nursing from Mom.
“Luckily, everything has gone as expected in a perfect scenario, so we haven’t had to really jostle around with plan Bs or Cs,” said Jordan Patch, owner of Animal Adventure Park on Monday.
The calf is the Harpursville, N.Y., park's first baby giraffe, after the calf's father, Oliver, was acquired at the age of 3 and April at 13. To prepare, Patch and other staff members shadowed other facilities, including the Cape May County Zoo in New Jersey, to learn how to care for a baby.
Changes to daily care include the separation of Oliver from April and the calf, so Mom can bond with her baby and Oliver doesn't accidentally harm the calf.
Related: 1.2 million tune in as April the giraffe finally gives birth
“It’s just more or less twisting and turning the normal schedule and having the animals adapt to that,” Patch said.
While the calf is strong — he weighed 130 pounds and stood at 5 foot, 9 inches Monday afternoon — he still has a few more milestones to go.
Patch and the other caretakers will watch as he begins to wean from April. This process, Patch said, could take anywhere from six to 10 months, to 14 or 15 months.
Once the calf can fully eat on its own and is no longer nursing, it will have weaned from the mother.
And once that happens, it will be time for him to leave Animal Adventure.
“The calf is going to be the one to decide when it’s time to leave us," Patch said.
When the time comes, Patch will be tasked with finding a new facility for the calf. Until then, April and her calf will bond while the rest of the world watches from the park's livestream for the remainder of the week.
The calf still needs a name. Anyone interested in casting a vote for a name can nominate it for $1 on the park's website, which was launched Saturday night.
Related: Is April the giraffe still pregnant?
As the calf grows, Animal Adventure Park is growing along with it.
According to data released by FreshySites, which powers aprilthegiraffe.com, 1,054,911 unique visitors went to the website Saturday. And while the livestream allowed more than a million people to see the birth up close, the park is virtually empty.
A few members of the public have stopped by to see the famous baby but have been turned away until the official opening of the park's fifth season on May 13.
Preparations are quickly being made to prepare.
As of Tuesday afternoon, a GoFundMe campaign launched to fund April, Oliver and the new baby has raised $142,955. This is $92,955 more than the campaign's initial $50,000 goal.
The funds will be used to improve the giraffes' space and support their care, and also fund other improvements in infrastructure and additions to the park itself.
"What people have to understand is that now, with this scale and popularity, we have to build up our staff and our infrastructure to accommodate that," Patch said.
He did not release the totals from other funds raised, including those from merchandise.
According to the park's website, a new welcome center is part of a major capital improvement plan for 2017 and 2018 and will include a gift shop, as well as indoor reptile, sloth and small animal exhibits. The park also plans to break ground on The Wilds of Asia & African Conservation Outpost, or ACOP.
Other plans include the development of brick and mortar restrooms, increased paving, shade shelters, range shelters and picnic spaces.
"We’ve never hid the fact that we’re a young facility, and we’re growing and we’re learning and navigating this journey as we go,” Patch said.
Related: Zoo: Live giraffe cam pulled for showing ‘nudity and sexual content’
Checking in on the three giraffes daily is Allysa Swilley, 23, who is one of the two lead giraffe keepers.
She fielded interviews in between feeding and watering the giraffes, and taking the calf's weight.
Swilley said April's pregnancy didn't change too much of her daily routine.
"When you have a baby, you want to keep the routine as normal as possible, because that normalcy keeps their stress levels nice and low, and keeps them nice and happy," Swilley said. "If you change everything, their whole system would be messed up, and we don't want to do that to them."
Swilley didn't realize she could be a media sensation. She has learned to adjust to the spotlight and hopes to make a global difference in helping to conserve the giraffe species.
"It's become this global platform to change the world," Swilley said of the livestream.
On Friday, that spotlight will dim: The "off" button will be clicked on the camera, and the livestream will be turned off.
But members of the park will be able to see April (as well as the park's 200 other animals spanning 80 species) once the park opens in May. April, now 15, will remain with the park for the rest of her life, Patch said.
“Though we have a victory inside this giraffe barn, there’s a lot more work and other animals outside of here that need our attention on a daily basis,” Patch said. “And we keep that in check, and it keeps us grounded.”
While Patch said April is currently healthy enough to carry another calf, they will wait to see whether she remains this way after the calf has weaned. They may even bring in more females to build the park's breeding herd.
"We can celebrate, but at the same time, we stay humble," Patch said. "We have a lot of work to do.”
Contributing: Katie Sullivan, (Binghamton, N.Y.) Press & Sun-Bulletin. Follow Maggie Gilroy on Twitter: @MaggieGilroy