It’s a Boy! April the Giraffe’s Baby Is Born

 

This is What’s Trending Today.

Millions of people have been eagerly waiting for April, a giraffe living at a zoo in New York State, to have her baby. Viewers were rewarded on Saturday: at about 10 a.m. April gave birth to a male calf¹.

The birth was filmed and shown live on YouTube. About 1 million people watched it. (Note: advance video to 3:18:46 to see birth.)

The zoo first posted live video of pregnant² April in her pen on YouTube in late February. People who object to zoos complained to YouTube, which took down the video. But stopping the video attracted even more interest.

After investigating, YouTube returned the video and allowed it to remain online.

The New York Times called April “an internet star.” Millions of people have checked on April at some point in the last two months. At its peak, April’s live camera on YouTube had almost 5 million viewers per day.

But after a while, many people wondered if the baby giraffe would ever be born. Some even proposed³ April was not really pregnant.

One fan said he followed April’s story for 10 weeks.

David Chase⁴ used Facebook to write: “I’ve been watching 10 weeks, who says guys can’t commit?”

After the birth, many people just simply wrote: “Finally!”

The zoo said the baby and April are doing fine. The calf weighs 58.5 kilograms and is just under 1.8 meters tall.

The calf stood up about 45 minutes after he was born.

The zoo, called Animal Adventure Park, is located about 200 kilometers northwest of New York City. It is currently⁵ closed but fans of April and her new baby will be able to visit when the park re-opens in mid-May.

The zoo has not yet announced the calf’s name.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

Words in This Story

eager – adj. very excited and interested

calf – n. the young of various other large animals (such as the elephant or whale)

complain – v. to say or write that you are unhappy, sick, uncomfortable, etc., or that you do not like something

commit – v. to decide to give your love, support, or effort to someone or something in a serious or permanent way

peak – adj. at the highest point or level

1 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

2 pregnant   

adj.怀孕的，怀胎的

参考例句：

• She is a pregnant woman.她是一名孕妇。
• She is pregnant with her first child.她怀了第一胎。

3 proposed   

被提议的

参考例句：

• There is widespread discontent among the staff at the proposed changes to pay and conditions. 员工对改变工资和工作环境的建议普遍不满。
• an outcry over the proposed change 对拟议的改革所发出的强烈抗议

4 chase   

vt.追逐，追赶，追求；n.追赶

参考例句：

• The police grabbed the robbers after a long chase.警察经过长距离追赶后逮住了抢劫犯。
• Would you chase me if I did?如果我逃开了，你会来追吗？

5 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。