[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 10349]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    A VISIT TO ANIMAL ADVENTURE PARK

  (Ms. TENNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. TENNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a new friend I 
made last week as I was traveling through the 22nd Congressional 
District: April the Giraffe.
  April is a resident of the Animal Adventure Park in Harpersville, New 
York; and many of you may already know April as the star of the Giraffe 
Cam which garnered worldwide attention this spring. The Giraffe Cam 
captured April giving birth to her baby calf, Tajiri. The live video 
was watched by more than 1 million viewers worldwide.
  I am happy to report that April and I had a great meeting and that 
Tajiri is growing and doing very well in the Animal Adventure Park. I 
also had the unique opportunity to pose for a selfie with April from 
high atop a perch. She was much obliging, especially since I had some 
carrots to offer her.
  Most importantly, during my visit to Animal Adventure Park, which is 
a beautiful preservation of wild animals from around the world, I 
learned that over the last 30 years the giraffe population numbers have 
declined by over 40 percent, and giraffes are now listed in the 
category of ``vulnerable to extinction,'' an important reminder that we 
can all do more to preserve wildlife and to protect precious wild 
species such as April and her darling baby, Taj, that share the planet 
with us.

                          ____________________