New Year, New Tapir at Franklin Park Zoo

New Year’s Day was extra special at Franklin Park Zoo… a Baird’s Tapir, named Abby, gave birth to a female calf.

The calf was born on January 1 to 28-year-old dad, Milton, and 13-year-old mom, Abby. This is the fourth offspring for both parents.

The soon-to-be-named calf recently had her first vet examination. The exam included blood work and a general physical. The calf weighed-in at 20.5 pounds and appears to be in good health.

“Abby is an experienced mother, and she is being very attentive to her new baby, who is strong and has been nursing well. As with any new birth, we are carefully monitoring the health of the new calf and the mother,” said Dr. Alex Becket, Zoo New England Associate Veterinarian in the department of Animal Health.

The baby’s arrival was long awaited by the Animal Care staff, as the gestation period for Baird’s Tapirs is thirteen months. Similar to a deer fawn, Baird’s Tapir calves are distinctly marked with watermelon like white stripes and spots, which help to camouflage them in the dappled light of the rainforest. The stripes begin to fade between five and six months of age.

“We are thrilled to share this wonderful news,” said John Linehan, Zoo New England President and CEO. “Given the small size of the North American captive population, this is a very important birth for this endangered species. Zoo New England is committed to Tapir conservation and has supported important field work being done on behalf of Baird’s Tapirs in Nicaragua.”

Photo Credits: Zoo New England/Sarah Woodruff

ZNE participates in the Baird’s Tapir Species Survival Plan (SSP), which is a cooperative, inter-zoo program coordinated nationally through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). SSPs help to ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered, and enhance conservation of these species in the wild. Because the AZA managed Tapir population is so small – 29 males and 20 females (including the new calf) – every successful birth and survival helps to secure the captive population. The new female calf at Franklin Park Zoo helps to balance out this small, but male skewed population.

Baird's Tapir (Tapirus bairdii), also known as the Central American Tapir, is a species of native to Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America.

They are the largest land mammal found in South America and are classified as “Endangered” by the IUCN Red List. While they are hunted for food and sport, their greatest threat to survival is habitat destruction due to logging and clearing of land for agriculture and development. In addition to humans, jaguars are the only other significant threat to this animals’ survival in the wild.

The Baird’s Tapirs, at Franklin Park Zoo, make their home in the ‘Tropical Forest’ exhibit. The new baby is expected to make her public debut within a few weeks.

Meet Zoo de Beauval’s Handsome New Tapir

Zoo de Beauval is pleased to announce the birth of a male Brazilian Tapir. The handsome three-week-old has been named Diego.

Attentive mother, Chiquita, has been protectively caring for her sweet, striped son. The new family, including dad Farrusco, is at home in the Zoo’s South American exhibit.

Photo Credits: Zoo de Beauval

The South American or Brazilian Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) is one of five species in the Tapir family, including: the Mountain Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, the Baird's Tapir, and the Kabomani Tapir.

They are excellent swimmers and divers, but they can also move quickly on land and rugged, mountainous terrain. They have a life span of approximately 25 to 30 years. When frightened, they are known to run toward water to take cover.

Brazilian Tapirs are herbivores. Using their nose, they can feed on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches torn from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants.

They generally mate in late Spring through early Summer. Females go through a gestation period of 13 months (390–395 days) and will typically have one offspring every two years. Newborns weigh about 15 pounds and are weaned at about six months of age.

The Brazilian Tapir is currently classified as “Vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List. Dwindling numbers are due to poaching for meat and hide, as well as habitat destruction. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service designated the species as “Endangered” on June 2, 1970.

‘Pitter-Patter' of Tapir Hooves at Edinburgh Zoo

RZSS Edinburgh Zoo keepers are hearing the “pitter-patter” of tiny hooves with the birth of an endangered Malayan Tapir calf.

The female calf, born on September 18, has been named Maya. The new arrival was welcomed by mother, Sayang, and father, Mowgli, and is being well cared for by her experienced mum.

Karen Stiven, Senior Hoofstock Keeper at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, said, “Currently, Maya is staying very close to mum and she is doing well. She has the signature brown fur and white markings that all baby Tapirs are born with, which helps to provide camouflage in the forest. She will begin to get her adult coloration at around three months old. Sayang is a great mum with lots of practice under her belt now and she really knows the ropes. Tapirs are pregnant for around 13 months so it is great to finally see another healthy calf being born.”

“Maya will go on to play an important role in the conservation of her species as part of the wider European Endangered Species Breeding Programme. The programme has a high demand for female Tapirs to help create a diverse safety-net population to ensure that the species does not go extinct in the wild.”

Photo Credits: RZSS/Siân Addison

Listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List, the species is increasingly threatened, with population numbers continuing to decline as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation as well as increasing hunting pressure.

The Malayan Tapir (Acrocodia indica), also known as the Asian Tapir, is the largest of four Tapir species and is the only Old World Tapir. Native to the rainforests of Burma, Malaysia, Sumatra and Thailand, Tapirs’ noses and upper lips are extended to form a prehensile proboscis, which they use to grab leaves. Female Tapirs have a long gestation period of 13 months before giving birth to a single calf.

Umi the Newborn Tapir Gets Her First Exam

Denver Zoo is happy to announce the birth of Umi, an endangered Malayan Tapir. The female calf, whose name means “life” in Malayan, was born to mother Rinny and father Benny early in the morning on May 6. She is only the third Malayan Tapir ever  born at the Denver Zoo. 

Photo Credit: Denver Zoo

Rinny has already proven to be a very patient mother, calmly making sure Umi is nursing successfully. Rinny was born at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo and Benny, who was born at the City of Belfast Zoo in Ireland were paired under recommendation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) which ensures healthy populations and genetic diversity among zoo animals.

Though they are most closely related to Horses and Rhinos, Tapirs are similar in build to Pigs, but significantly larger. Malayan Tapirs have a large, barrel shaped body ideal for crashing through dense forest vegetation. Their noses and upper lips are extended to form a long, prehensile snout, similar to a stubby version of an Elephant’s trunk. Malayan Tapirs are the largest of the four Tapir species. As adults, they can stand more than three feet tall and are six to eight feet long. Adult Tapirs weigh between 700 and 900 pounds. They are excellent swimmers and spend much of their time in water. They can even use their flexible noses as snorkels!

As adults, Malayan Tapirs have a distinctive color pattern that some people say resembles an Oreo cookie, black in the front and back, separated by a white or gray midsection. This provides excellent camouflage that breaks up the Tapir’s outline in the shadows of the forest. By contrast, young Tapirs have color patterns that more resemble brown watermelons, with spots and stripes, which help them blend into the dappled sunlight and leaf shadows of the forest to protect them from predators.

Malayan Tapirs are the only Tapir native to Asia. Once found throughout Southeast Asia, they now inhabit only the rain forests of the Indochinese peninsula and Sumatra. With a wild population of less than 2,000 individuals, they are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), due to habitat loss and hunting. 

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New Malayan Tapir Calf at Antwerp Zoo

A Malayan Tapir was born at Antwerp Zoo on October 7^th!

This is the second baby for mom, Nakal. After thirteen months of pregnancy, the birth went very quickly and smoothly. The young calf is doing well and has been running around a lot. This is the seventh young Tapir for Antwerp, and with a little luck, patrons can catch a glimpse of the newest member.

At birth, the brand new baby weighed about 9 kg (35 times less than his parents). Mother and baby have been spending lots of bonding time in the safety of their nesting house with a large window. Wherever mom goes, her little one is not far behind. The young calf’s father is the late Kamal. According to Antwerp Zoo, Kamal died unexpectedly two months ago.

The little ones sex is still unknown; but once it is revealed, keepers are planning to compile a list of their top three choices for a name and allow fans to vote via the Zoo’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/zooantwerpen 

Photo Credits: ZOO Antwerpen

The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also known as the Asian Tapir, is the largest of four Tapir species and is the only Old World Tapir. They are native to the rainforests of Burma, Malaysia, Sumatra and Thailand. Their noses and upper lips are extended to form a prehensile proboscis, which they use to grab leaves. Tapirs normally measure 1.8 to 2.5m (6 to 8 feet) in length, with a shoulder height of 0.9 to 1.1m. (3 to 3.5 feet).

The animals are related to both the Horse and the Rhinoceros. They are an ‘odd-toed’ animal, having four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.

Malayan Tapirs also have poor eyesight, which makes them rely heavily on their excellent senses of smell and hearing.

They are also known for their unusual courtship ritual, which involves an assortment of wheezing and whistling sounds. They will sniff each other, walking around in circles before mating. Females have a long gestation period of 13 months before giving birth to a single calf.

Baby Tapir Shows Off His Snout

Like all baby Tapirs, a newborn Baird’s Tapir born August 28 at the Nashville Zoo looks suspiciously like a brown watermelon with a snout.  But rest assured, this little male will eventually sport a smooth, dark brown coat and weigh up to 800 pounds.

Photo Credit:  Amiee Stubbs

The calf’s parents, Romeo and Juliet, were brought to the Nashville Zoo from Central America to introduce a new genetic line to the zoo-dwelling Tapir population. 

Because this calf was Juliet’s first baby, the zoo staff set up a remote camera system and monitored her around the clock as her delivery date approached.  Juliet went into labor at 4:00 PM on August 28 and delivered her healthy calf just 20 minutes later.  Tapirs are pregnant for about 400 days.

Tapirs’ snouts are elongated and very flexible.  These snouts are used to grab leaves and other vegetation and pass it to the mouth.    

Baird’s Tapirs are native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America, where they are the largest land mammals.  They have very few natural predators, but are listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, mainly due to habitat destruction and poaching.  Tapirs are legally protected in most of their range, but lack of enforcement results in significant losses.

 

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Solo the Tapir Explores at Chester Zoo

A Malayan Tapir calf, named Solo, has taken his first steps outside at Chester Zoo.

Solo, born July 11, was named after the longest river on the Indonesian island of Java. Zoo staff reports that he ‘reveled’ in his very first outdoor adventure, under the watchful eyes of his mum Margery.

The youngster, who is the first of his species to ever be born at the Zoo, paraded around showing off his dark brown coat covered in white spots and stripes. Juvenile Malayan Tapirs lose those patterns in the first year of their life and develop their adult coats, with one half of their bodies black and the other half white.

Chester Zoo is part of a European breeding programme for this endangered species. Keepers at the zoo say Solo’s arrival is hugely significant, as he will add valuable genetics to the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), which is working to ensure a safety net population of Malayan Tapirs in zoos, ensuring they do not go extinct.

Photo Credits: Chester Zoo

 

The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also known as the Asian Tapir, is the largest of four Tapir species and is the only Old World Tapir. They are native to the rainforests of Burma, Malaysia, Sumatra and Thailand. Their noses and upper lips are extended to form a prehensile proboscis, which they use to grab leaves. Tapirs normally measure 1.8 to 2.5m (6 to 8 feet) in length, with a shoulder height of 0.9 to 1.1m. (3 to 3.5 feet).

The animals are related to both the Horse and the Rhinoceros. They are an ‘odd-toed’ animal, having four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.

Malayan Tapirs also have poor eyesight, which makes them rely heavily on their excellent senses of smell and hearing.

They are also known for their unusual courtship ritual, which involves an assortment of wheezing and whistling sounds. They will sniff each other, walking around in circles before mating. Females have a long gestation period of 13 months before giving birth to a single calf.

Listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List, the Malayan Tapir is increasingly threatened, with population numbers continuing to decline as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as increasing hunting pressure. The population has been estimated to have declined by more than 50% in the last three generations (36 years) primarily as a result of Tapir habitat being converted into palm oil plantations. They are also threatened by increased hunting for their fur, road-kills and trapping in snares left for other animals.

More pics, below the fold! 

Stripy Tapir Calf Spotted at Edinburgh Zoo

RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has welcomed the arrival of an endangered Malayan Tapir calf. The spotty and striped young male was born in the evening of May 19 to mother, Sayang, and father, Mowgli.

The tiny calf was born weighing 11kg (24 lbs), but he will double in size in the coming weeks, eventually growing up to weigh as much as 250kg to 320kg (550 lbs to 700 lbs)!

Malayan Tapir calves are born with brown fur and white stripes and dots, which provides camouflage in the forest. After a few months, Malayan Tapir youngsters start to lose their stripes and spots and, by six months of age, they look like miniature adults, with stocky black bodies and white or grey midsections.

Karen Stiven, Hoofstock Keeper at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo, said, “The tiny calf is doing very well and, whilst he is staying close to his mother, he has been rambling around a bit on his small shaky legs to explore his surroundings. On Monday afternoon he took his first tentative steps into the outdoor paddock and was even brave enough to take a few splashes in the pond.

“The birth of this calf is very significant as he will go on to play a role in the conservation of this rare species as, once he is old enough, he will join the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme to help augment a safety-net population for this species, ensuring they do not go extinct. RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has had great husbandry success with this increasingly threatened Tapir species.”

Photo Credits: RZSS/ Jon-Paul Orsi

 

The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also known as the Asian Tapir, is the largest of four Tapir species and is the only Old World Tapir. They are native to the rainforests of Burma, Malaysia, Sumatra and Thailand. Their noses and upper lips are extended to form a prehensile proboscis, which they use to grab leaves. Tapirs normally measure 1.8 to 2.5m (6 to 8 feet) in length, with a shoulder height of 0.9 to 1.1m. (3 to 3.5 feet). Females have a long gestation period of 13 months before giving birth to a single calf.

Listed as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List, the Malayan Tapir is increasingly threatened, with population numbers continuing to decline as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation, as well as increasing hunting pressure. The population has been estimated to have declined by more than 50% in the last three generations (36 years) primarily as a result of Tapir habitat being converted into palm oil plantations.

More great pics, below the fold!

New Brazilian Tapir Steps Out at Chester Zoo

Keepers at Chester Zoo have announced the arrival of a rare Brazilian Tapir.

The female calf, which has not yet been named, was born early in the morning of December 5 to experienced parents Jenny and Cuzco.

Weighing just a few kilograms at birth, she is expected to more than double in size within just two to three weeks.

Photo Credits: Chester Zoo

Young Tapirs are born with spots and stripes all over their bodies, heads, and legs. But they lose these patterns in the first year of their life.

Tim Rowlands, curator of mammals, said, “With her brown coat currently covered in white stripes and spots, our new Tapir calf resembles a little humbug on legs at the moment. Lowland Tapirs lose this patterning over time but, for a newborn, it’s a great form of camouflage, as predators will often mistake young calves for specks of sunlight on the forest floor.

“At just a few days old she is tiny, but Tapirs grow very quickly and we expect she will double in weight in just a matter of weeks. She already has bundles of energy and is quite demanding on mum in particular, but Jenny is very experienced and knows exactly what to do.

“We hope that our new arrival will be another great ambassador for the species and their cousins in the wild who, sadly, fall victim to a number of devastating threats that has resulted in a huge loss of wildlife across South America.”

The Brazilian, or Lowland Tapir, (Tapirus terrestris) is one of five species in the tapir family. The Lowland Tapir is the largest native terrestrial mammal in the Amazon. They can be found near water in the Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes.

Lowland Tapirs are excellent swimmers but also move quickly over land. They feed on a diet of fruits, berries, and leaves. Their closest relatives are horses and rhinoceroses.

They reach sexual maturity in their third year. Females have a gestation period of 13 months (390 to 395 days) and typically have one offspring every two years. Newborns weigh about 15 pounds and will double their weight in the first 14 to 21 days. The young are fully weaned in about four to six months from birth.

Prague Zoo’s New Tapir Calf Was a Long Time Coming

Prague Zoo is very excited to announce the birth of a new star in their tapir nursery. A Malayan Tapir was born October 15^th to mom, Indah, and father, Niko.

The birth of the new calf is also being celebrated as a big success for the zoo’s keepers. It is the first Malayan Tapir to be born in Prague after nearly 40 years. Prague Zoo and the Zoo Zlín are the only facilities in the Czech Republic where the Malayan Tapirs are kept.

Photo Credits: Petr Hamerník / Prague Zoo

Visitors to the Prague Zoo can now see the small baby tapir on exhibit. In the past twelve months, there have been just six Malayan Tapirs born in Europe. The Prague Zoo has been keeping Malayan Tapirs since 1967.

Mom, Indah, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on September 26, 2008. As a near two-year-old calf, she came to Prague from the Rare Species Conservation Centre in Sandwich, Kent, chaperoned by her older brother Vasan. It took no time for them to settle into their new home, within the Water World exhibit.

This new baby tapir is Indah’s first offspring, and she is proving herself to be a very good mother. In the coming weeks, keepers will be able to determine the sex, and then a proper name can be selected for the new baby.

The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also known as the Asian Tapir, is the largest of the five species of tapir and the only one native to Asia. The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species’ natural habitat. In the Malay language, the tapir is commonly referred to as cipan, tenuk or badak tampung.