April the giraffe, an animal who went viral in 2017 when her zoo livestreamed the end of her 16-month pregnancy online, has died at the age of 20. Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY, where April lived, announced that April had to be euthanized due to her worsening arthritis, ABC News reports.
- April was kept comfortable as long as possible. While it’s not unusual for animals to develop joint issues as they get older, it was simply no longer kind to keep her alive as she was in too much pain. “We credit and thank the outstanding collective care provided by the park’s veterinarians and animal care team with keeping April happy and healthy during her more than five-year stay at Animal Adventure,” the zoo said in a Facebook post.
- Euthanizing April was a last resort. While they tried everything they could to give her a longer, happier life, it eventually became clear that it wasn’t working. “Both teams have made every possible effort to keep her comfortable and prolong her life while managing her condition. Over the past year, accommodations were made and treatments performed, including yard substrate changes, installation of a state-of-the-art padded barn flooring system, coupled with farrier work, dietary and medical changes. April’s most recent veterinary exam identified the acceleration of April’s condition, prompting the determination that euthanasia was the humane and appropriate course of action,” the post continued.
- She will certainly be missed. April had millions of fans during her pregnancy, with more than 1.2 million people logging on to watch her give birth to her calf Tajiri. Her YouTube channel became the second most-watched in the site’s history at the time with more than 232 million views between February and May 2017.
- April’s body will be cremated and returned to the zoo. After undergoing a necropsy at Cornell University Veterinary School before being cremated and being returned to the zoo. She may be gone, but her memory will live on forever.
