HARPURSVILLE – Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville has announced that their 15-year-old giraffe, April, is expecting a calf – and they are once again live-streaming its birth on YouTube.

Animal Adventure Park's stream of April the giraffe's pen attracted between 20 and 30 million viewers within its first 12 hours of going live.

But on the morning of Thursday, Feb. 23, the stream was taken down by YouTube, citing 'sexually explicit or nude content.' Park Owner Jordan Patch subsequently took to Facebook live to respond.

Patch speculated in the live stream that the video was taken down as a result of animal rights extremists continually reporting the video as inappropriate.

“What [taking down the stream] has done is taken away an educational tool from tens of millions of individuals,” said Patch. “This is a perfect example of why we can't have nice things.”

Furthermore, Patch said that giraffes have recently been deemed 'threatened' in their conservation level – the next level down from their previous status of 'vulnerable' – and the lack of giraffe awareness could eventually bring the species' demise.

“By bringing awareness, we can bring appreciation – and then conservation – to giraffes in the wild,” said Patch.

In the wake of the overwhelming support Animal Adventure Park received following the live stream's removal and Patch's subsequent response, YouTube has since allowed the stream to go live once again.

Patch says that while they are expecting a calf soon at Animal Adventure Park, the term 'timeline' is a human construct, and animals and nature work on their own timeline.

“When birth is imminent – when hooves are visible – we will have a calf on the ground within 60 minutes,” said Patch.

Once the giraffe is born, those at Animal Adventure Park say that they will hold a contest to determine the calf's name.

To access the live stream of April the giraffe's pen and the birth of her calf, visit the Animal Adventure Park Facebook page, or search “Animal Adventure Park Giraffe Cam” on YouTube.

Pictured above is an Evening Sun file photo of Animal Adventure Park Owner Jordan Patch feeding a carrot to Oliver the giraffe in 2015. Oliver happens to be the father of the calf that April is expected to birth.