Even though there are almost 4.5 billion web pages on the Internet, last month the entire world seemed to be fixated on one in particular -- the live stream of a pregnant giraffe.
You know the one we're talking about, moms -- the video of a pregnant giraffe prancing around her pen was likely all over your Facebook feed for months. The giraffe in question's name is April, and her baby, a gangly little boy, was born on April 15 amidst a chorus of squeals from adoring fans around the world.
April's pregnancy saga has been ongoing since mid-February, when her keepers at the Harpursville, New York Animal Adventure Park announced she was getting ready to deliver at any time. To delight giraffe lovers everywhere, April's keepers set up a live Facebook feed in hopes she would give birth sooner rather than later.
Well, it turned out that April wasn't quite ready for her little boy to show up. As each day went by, April became more and more of a viral sensation as worldwide viewers were tuning in to watch in anticipation. And considering that an estimated 23% of Facebook users check their account at least five times daily, this video reached a ton of people.
As a way to gently mock April's viral fame, South Carolina mother-to-be Erin Dietrich decided to have a little fun. Nine months pregnant at the time, she donned a realistic giraffe mask and started her own Facebook video while she waited to go into labor.
Well, the Internet loved that, too. Dietrich was quickly dubbed "Giraffe Mom" and went viral in her own right. To this day people recognize her on the streets, and she is slowly getting used to her 15 minutes of Internet fame.
“It’s just been surreal,” Dietrich explained to WSOCTV. “I still don’t know, like -- how did this all happen? Because I was, like, 100 weeks pregnant dancing around in a $16 Amazon giraffe mask?”
To make things even better, the television show Inside Edition arranged to get the two giraffe moms to meet once their children were old enough for visitors. Erin and her one-month-old son Porter were flown to meet her fuzzy giraffe compatriot, and the resulting encounter was too cute for words.
Porter was dressed up as a giraffe himself to meet his giraffe cousin, who was named Tajiri after a nationwide naming contest. Oh, and that $16 Amazon mask made an appearance as well.
Dietrich feels that she has now met a friend for life, even if April can't talk back to her. They do have adorable giraffe sons though, to bond them for life.
“We’re buddies. We’re companions," Dietrich told Inside Edition. "She just doesn’t know it.”
Or does she?
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