The Buzz Around Town
with Editor Kevin McManus
Photo by KEVIN MCMANUS Along with the rest of the world, The Post’s Lauren Koketko (right) continually keeps a watchful eye over the live broadcast of “April the Giraffe.”
It’s possible that a pregnant giraffe wandering aimlessly in a stall has higher ratings than any network TV show right now. She’s even rivaling the president in consistent media attention, and that’s saying something.
Since February, the biggest thing on the Internet, and maybe even in popular culture in general, has been exactly that. April the Giraffe, one of the many four-legged attractions at Animal Adventure Park in central New York, has supposedly been on the verge of giving birth for over a month now. The coverage received of the conclusion of her roughly 15-month pregnancy has been nonstop.
Millions have been tuning in throughout each day to watch the online live feed of April, as well as her male counterpart Oliver, give birth to her fourth calf. The broadcast is quite stagnant. Sometimes the giraffe, referred to as a cow, paces slowly, sometimes she eats, sometimes she lays down, occasionally veterinarians come in and check on her. It’s not exactly the stunning hi-def nature imagery Discovery Channel made its name on, yet it’s an absolute sensation.
For many April fans, it’s an everyday ritual, sometimes even an overnight ritual for those in eastern time who go lights out along with April and wake up with her in the morning. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t someone in your life following April’s every move as you read this.
One of my colleagues, customer service representative and staff writer Lauren Koketko, is a confirmed April fan. Everyone in the office turns to Lauren for the April highlights. She keeps the live feed – which is re-broadcast by countless TV news affiliates across the U.S. – running in the background of her computer all day at work, and sometimes at home.
“Yeah, that giraffe has taken over my life,” Lauren laughed.
But why are people so into it? Why is everyone from “Good Morning America” and The Washington Post giving valuable time to a giraffe?
“That’s a good question. I honestly just started watching it one night when I couldn’t sleep and then got hooked,” Lauren said. “I guess for me, watching the giraffe cam every day, you sort of get to see the personalities of the two giraffes, and since they’re not animals we’re used to watching every day, it keeps things interesting.”
The live feed has grown so popular that it’s even been sold as ad space. Toys R Us, whose mascot is obviously a giraffe, has its logo plastered in the corner at all times now; before that, it was animal feed company Mazuri.
Nothing like the old “pregnant giraffe trick” to drive up a good bidding war.
“They’re being super smart about it,” Lauren said of the marketing possibilities. “It makes sense, though, if you have that big of a following. The text alert is $4.99 and it goes toward wildlife conservation efforts, but they’re roping people into it saying that’s the first, official way the gender will be revealed.”
What started as just a social media stunt, although somewhat of an educational one, turned into a bit of controversy shortly after the broadcast began on Animal Adventure’s own website by way of YouTube. There, it was flagged for sexual content and briefly discontinued. It was restored a short time later due to extreme popular demand.
“It’s just interesting to see how many people are watching and where they’re from, since a lot will leave a comment with their location,” Lauren said. “I like to see what people are saying. When they introduced the text alert subscription option this weekend, a lot of people were saying this whole thing was a scam to get money, etc.”
I personally thought it was going to be a legitimate “April” fool on the first of the month, but that would have been a cruel joke to those who, apparently, are deeply invested in this persisting national event.
“I’ve also learned a ton of new, probably useless, giraffe facts during it, too,” Lauren said. “Just over time, I’ve developed a fondness for April and giraffe-baby-daddy Oliver. I’ll be bummed once she has the baby.”
No doubt, April and her soon-to-be-born calf, weirdly enough, have gone global.
But I suppose there are far worse things than a cute baby giraffe for the masses to rally behind, right?
Contact me
As always, I look forward to hearing from you and will gladly accept news tips at kmcmanus@thepostnewspapers.com.
Make it a great week, Medina.
Since February, the biggest thing on the Internet, and maybe even in popular culture in general, has been exactly that. April the Giraffe, one of the many four-legged attractions at Animal Adventure Park in central New York, has supposedly been on the verge of giving birth for over a month now. The coverage received of the conclusion of her roughly 15-month pregnancy has been nonstop.
Millions have been tuning in throughout each day to watch the online live feed of April, as well as her male counterpart Oliver, give birth to her fourth calf. The broadcast is quite stagnant. Sometimes the giraffe, referred to as a cow, paces slowly, sometimes she eats, sometimes she lays down, occasionally veterinarians come in and check on her. It’s not exactly the stunning hi-def nature imagery Discovery Channel made its name on, yet it’s an absolute sensation.
For many April fans, it’s an everyday ritual, sometimes even an overnight ritual for those in eastern time who go lights out along with April and wake up with her in the morning. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t someone in your life following April’s every move as you read this.
One of my colleagues, customer service representative and staff writer Lauren Koketko, is a confirmed April fan. Everyone in the office turns to Lauren for the April highlights. She keeps the live feed – which is re-broadcast by countless TV news affiliates across the U.S. – running in the background of her computer all day at work, and sometimes at home.
“Yeah, that giraffe has taken over my life,” Lauren laughed.
But why are people so into it? Why is everyone from “Good Morning America” and The Washington Post giving valuable time to a giraffe?
“That’s a good question. I honestly just started watching it one night when I couldn’t sleep and then got hooked,” Lauren said. “I guess for me, watching the giraffe cam every day, you sort of get to see the personalities of the two giraffes, and since they’re not animals we’re used to watching every day, it keeps things interesting.”
The live feed has grown so popular that it’s even been sold as ad space. Toys R Us, whose mascot is obviously a giraffe, has its logo plastered in the corner at all times now; before that, it was animal feed company Mazuri.
Nothing like the old “pregnant giraffe trick” to drive up a good bidding war.
“They’re being super smart about it,” Lauren said of the marketing possibilities. “It makes sense, though, if you have that big of a following. The text alert is $4.99 and it goes toward wildlife conservation efforts, but they’re roping people into it saying that’s the first, official way the gender will be revealed.”
What started as just a social media stunt, although somewhat of an educational one, turned into a bit of controversy shortly after the broadcast began on Animal Adventure’s own website by way of YouTube. There, it was flagged for sexual content and briefly discontinued. It was restored a short time later due to extreme popular demand.
“It’s just interesting to see how many people are watching and where they’re from, since a lot will leave a comment with their location,” Lauren said. “I like to see what people are saying. When they introduced the text alert subscription option this weekend, a lot of people were saying this whole thing was a scam to get money, etc.”
I personally thought it was going to be a legitimate “April” fool on the first of the month, but that would have been a cruel joke to those who, apparently, are deeply invested in this persisting national event.
“I’ve also learned a ton of new, probably useless, giraffe facts during it, too,” Lauren said. “Just over time, I’ve developed a fondness for April and giraffe-baby-daddy Oliver. I’ll be bummed once she has the baby.”
No doubt, April and her soon-to-be-born calf, weirdly enough, have gone global.
But I suppose there are far worse things than a cute baby giraffe for the masses to rally behind, right?
Contact me
As always, I look forward to hearing from you and will gladly accept news tips at kmcmanus@thepostnewspapers.com.
Make it a great week, Medina.