Thousands tune in as April the Giraffe gives birth live on YouTube

April is a new mum again. Photo / YouTube

April the Giraffe, who had gone viral during her first pregnancy two years ago, has given birth to another baby giraffe - and thousands tuned in to watch it happen in real time.

April, a giraffe who lives in an Animal Adventure Park in the New York area, gave birth to a healthy male calf on Saturday, while 300,000 people watched the livestream on YouTube.

This is April's fifth baby and her second with her current mate, Oliver.

The livestreamed birth happened two years after April first went viral on YouTube. In a seven-week period before giving birth to Tajiri, April accumulated more than 232 million YouTube live views as she prepared for the birth.

At one point, her live feed was suspended as it supposedly violated YouTube's nudity and sexual content policy.

This time, there was no such thing to worry about. YouTube viewers excitedly watched as April delivered another happy calf.

"Success! With an average 15-month gestation, we are thankful to have a healthy calf on the ground, nursing and bonding with mom," the animal park owner Jordan Patch said. "With wild giraffe numbers plummeting annually, every calf born counts."

A naming contest for the new calf will be held in the coming days.