Giraffe birth becomes 2nd most live-viewed YouTube channel
HARPURSVILLE, N.Y. — The long-awaited arrival of April the giraffe’s baby in upstate New York has made Animal Adventure Park the second most live-viewed channel in YouTube’s history.
YouTube says April’s livestream had more than 232 million live views and 7.6 billion minutes of live watch time since February, second only to League of Legends eSports, which has been around since 2012.
The not-yet-named male baby giraffe was running around with its mother within three hours of birth Saturday at the private zoo in Harpursville, a village 130 miles northwest of New York City.
Animal Adventure Park owner Jordan Patch says the baby is healthy and April is recovering “perfectly.”
April and the baby will be introduced to the public when the park opens for the season next month.
Ball that stuck to Molina sold for $2,000 in online auction
NEW YORK — Talk about some serious sticker shock!
The baseball that curiously stuck to Yadier Molina’s chest protector during a game this month was sold for $2,015 in a St. Louis Cardinals online auction. There were 58 bids for the ball, and the winner was declared when the auction closed Sunday night.
By now, most fans are familiar with the bizarre play: Cardinals reliever Brett Cecil struck out pinch-hitter Matt Szczur of the Chicago Cubs on a pitch in the dirt April 6. The ball bounced up and somehow stuck to Molina’s chest protector as the Gold Glove catcher looked around trying to find it. By the time he did, Szczur was safe at first base.
Major League Baseball looked into the play and determined there was no rules violation. Molina said he had no idea how Cecil’s pitch clung to his equipment. He was asked after the game if he put something sticky there and dismissed it as a “dumb question.”
Associated Press
