ZOO’S PAIN IN THE NECK
A live feed of a pregnant giraffe in labor was suddenly yanked off YouTube — then reinstated Thursday after a bunch of animal-rights “extremists” complained that the video contained “nudity and sexual content.”
As many as 30 million people tuned in to watch April the giraffe give birth to a calf at the Animal Adventure Park Zoo in upstate Harpursville, just outside Binghamton.
The live feed went viral and was up for several hours before it was abruptly pulled off air Thursday morning.
Park officials said the activists reported the video for being sexually explicit in a bid to get it removed.
“There’s a handful of extremists and animal-rights activists that may not agree with us and that’s OK,” said zoo owner Jordan Patch in a Facebook video. “What this has done is pulled an educational tool away from tens of mil- lions of individuals. We’re further harming the species of giraffes.”
Patch reiterated that the zoo is helping to conserve giraffes’ natural environments to ensure the animals’ survival.
“Instead of sitting behind a keyboard or holding a protest sign, I encourage the animalrights activists — get behind conservation,” he said. “We’re all on the same team.”
At around 9 a.m. Thursday, the livestream went back up, showing a heavily pregnant April pac- ing her indoor pen in anticipation of her baby.
YouTube said the video’s removal was a mistake.
“Sometimes we make the wrong call,” a statement read. “When it’s brought to our attention that content has been removed mistakenly, we act quickly to reinstate it.”
The live video garnered more than 60,000 views in the afternoon as comments rolled in from inquisitive viewers.
“How could she eat at a time like this?” one wondered about the giraffe.
April, who spent the last 15 months pregnant, will give birth standing up. Her calf will weigh about 150 pounds and will be about 6 feet tall at birth, the zoo said.
The zoo will hold a contest to choose its name.
The baby will stay with April for six to 10 months before it’s rehomed, according to the zoo.
This will be the fourth calf for 15-year-old April and the first for her younger mate, Oliver, 5.