She is probably the only internet sensation in Harpursville, New York, a hamlet of about 3500 people in the Southern Tier region: April, a very pregnant giraffe, whose livestream video has attracted millions of viewers.

But April's instant stardom - the stream, which was posted about three weeks ago by Animal Adventure Park, where she lives, has been viewed nearly 20 million times on YouTube - is raising hopes that the attention will yield an economic boost for the region, a former manufacturing powerhouse that has struggled in recent years.

April with Allysa Swilley, zoologist and head giraffe keeper at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, N.Y. Credit:Heather Ainsworth/The New York Times

The audience that has tuned in online to watch and wait for April to give birth has translated into phone calls, emails and a surge of interest in the 3 1/2-year-old animal park, now closed for the winter, said its owner, Jordan Patch.

Patch said he had received dozens of inquiries about which airport was closest to the park (Greater Binghamton Airport), the nearest hotels (also in Binghamton, about 20 minutes away), and where visitors could camp (Chenango Valley State Park).