April the giraffe finally gives birth and the internet loses its mind

On 10 February, educational animal park Animal Adventure began a livestream of its pregnant giraffe. It soon went viral as viewers from all around the world tuned in, hoping for a glimpse at the glorious miracle of life.

While the stream spawned theories of an April Fool’s hoax (Animal Adventure were pulling in a lot of cash and also no good thing in 2017 is to be trusted), it turns out our worries were for naught.

On Saturday, April gave birth to a healthy baby boy — with more than a million people watching.

It all started on Friday when April began pacing, and avid viewers of the stream were quick to notice.

But just as things seemed to be picking up, the feed dropped. Viewers were flummoxed.

Then, at 2.45pm on Saturday, April went into labour.

Views soared as people rushed to their nearest device to catch a glimpse of the little hooves sticking out of poor old April.

And just a few minutes before 5pm, April gave her final push.

After a few hours of adorable face-planting, the 6-foot-tall newborn finally found his feet.

According to YouTube, Animal Adventure’s stream became the “second most live-viewed channel in the history of YouTube despite launching a mere 66 days ago.”

In total, the channel accrued 232-million live views and 7.6-billion minutes of live watch-time total.

April the giraffe, a resident of educational animal park Animal Adventure, broke all sorts of YouTube records this weekend

The actual birth saw 1.2-million simultaneous live views, making the moment one of the top five most-watched for a live event ever.

The channel also became the fifth fastest channel to reach 200-million channel views, placing April behind the likes of Lady Gaga and Zayn. It is also the fastest channel to garner 100 million live views — and is one of only seven who have done so.

So what’s next for this beautiful giraffe family?

For now, Animal Adventure are using their fame to let people pay to vote for the name of the calf. Proceeds go towards wild giraffe conservation efforts, a foundation that helps families through “unexpected medical journeys and expenses,” as well as towards the upkeep of the park itself.

Any bets on Giraffey McGiraffeFace?

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