It appears April is holding on for her namesake month to deliver her world-famous calf.
After weeks of waiting for what may be the most globally anticipated giraffe birth in history, it appears April's tens of millions of fans will have to sit tight just a little bit longer.
As the calendar turned toward the month of April Friday night, April the giraffe had still not given birth, despite the upstate New York zoo live-streaming her pregnancy writing Friday morning that "all observations, behavior and predictions suggest a calf today or tonight."
"We would be shocked to get through the weekend without our newest addition," the Animal Adventure Park wrote. "The staff have been onsite with April all morning, Dr Tim was called and onsite within minutes. This is what we have all been waiting for!"
The zoo said it hoped to launch a text alert system to notify people when April went into active labor, though it wasn't clear if it would be up and running in time.
Watch the live stream below.
More than 250,000 people were tuning in to the live-stream just after 9 p.m. Friday as April and Oliver touched noses and necks through a barrier separating their pens. They kept it up even after the lights were out about a half-hour later.
Earlier on Friday, onlookers saw zoo keepers enter April's pen sweeping up extra dirt and and cleaning up in what appeared to be a preparation stage.
When April goes into active labor, the baby's front hoofs will be the first to come out, followed by the snout, the zoo says.
Mom will naturally raise the calf on her own, and weaning could take between six to 10 months, maybe even longer -- the zoo says it won't rush the process. Once weaning is over, the baby giraffe will move on to another facility to start a breeding program there.
"We cannot retain offspring, as it would lead to incestuous mating and undermine the genetics of the program and species," the zoo says.
This is 15-year-old April's fourth calf. It'll be the first for her mate Oliver. He won't take any part in rearing the calf, though. Male giraffes, called bulls, really only care about two things, the zoo says: "fighting and the unmentionable."
"He is a bull -- and a bull is a bull is a bull!" the zoo says.
April's pregnancy was catapulted into global headlines late last month after YouTube briefly yanked the zoo's stream following complaints by animal activists that it violated the site's policies concerning "nudity and sexual content." Thousands upon thousands of commenters voiced their frustration on Facebook and YouTube, and the stream was restored within an hour or so.
Jordan Patch, owner of the Animal Adventure Park, says the natural curiosity surrounding giraffes and their birthing process has been a huge factor in drawing crowds.
"I think the fact that she's a giraffe and she's a neat species that people are interested in, that's fostered a lot of the attention," he said. "The fact that you're gonna get to witness the miracle of birth from an animal that you really don't get to see give birth — that's neat."
He added that April's pregnancy is not just live entertainment, but a teachable moment and source for education. This is the zoo's first giraffe calf.
Giraffe pregnancies last up to 15 months. Labor lasts anywhere from a few hours to a few days. The calf, which will be the first born at Animal Adventure Park, will be about 150 pounds and 6 feet tall at birth and up and walking in about an hour.
The zoo said it will hold an online competition to name the baby giraffe once it's born.
Photo Credit: Animal Adventure Park YouTube
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