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On January 6, Poland's Wroclaw ZOO welcomed the birth of a little female South American Tapir. This striped little girl is healthy, nursing regularly, and growing strong. She will be weaned in about 6 months. She has been named Melba, and spends her days in an indoor exhibit where guests can watch her playing and cuddling with Sabrina, her mother.
Although this is Sabrina's ninth baby, she is a little bit overprotective. According to keepers, Mom spends a little too much time licking her daughter.... but the youngster is very patient and calmly tolerates this nurturing behavior. As a result, the baby often has hair that looks a little spiky, like she used hair gel.
Photo Credit: Wroclaw ZOO
The South American Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) is one of four species in the Tapir family, along with the mountain, the Malayan, and the Baird's Tapirs. It is the second-largest land mammal in South America, after the Baird's Tapir. Females go through a gestation period of roughly 13 months and in most all cases, have one offspring every two years.
Since 1970, the South American Tapir has been classified as Endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, though it has a significantly lower risk of extinction than the other three Tapir species. Their numbers are dwindling due to poaching for their hide and meat, as well as the destruction of their natural habitat by man.
Celestýnka,
a Brazilian Tapir born this fall at Zoo Brno in the Czech Republic, is getting
plenty of exercise these days as he runs, jumps, and plays in his snowy outdoor
enclosure. The calf has grown
considerably since he was featured on ZooBorns as a little newborn.
Zoo
Brno fans voted to name the chubby little calf, who was born to parents Cusco and Neny. Celestýnka’s antics have made him a favorite
with zoo visitors and staff, as well as a capybara that shares his enclosure (look for this large rodent in the photos).
Photo Credit: Zoo Brno
Brazilian Tapirs are native to the northern half of South America, where
they roam the underbrush of rain forests in the region. They are often found near waterways and are
excellent swimmers. Tapirs’ aquatic
habits make them vulnerable to attacks by crocodiles and anacondas. Jaguars and cougars prey on Tapirs sleeping
on riverbanks.
Predators are not Tapirs’ only threats: Tapirs are listed as vulnerable to
extinction due to large-scale habitat destruction and poaching for their meat
and hide.
The Czech Republic’s Prague Zoo celebrated the birth of a
Malayan Tapir on November 6. Born to
mother Ivana, the male baby is only the second Tapir ever born in the history of the
zoo.
The baby’s birth lasted only 30 minutes, and the calf was immediately
“alive and kicking,” according to staff reports. For now, the calf prefers to stay close to
Ivana in the zoo’s exhibit.
All Malayan Tapir calves are born with a dappled brown and
white coat, which offers excellent camouflage in its native southeast Asian
rain forest. By the time the baby is
about six months old, it will develop the solid black and white coloration of
the adults.
Malayan Tapirs are endangered. Once found throughout the Malay peninsula and
the Indonesian island of Sumatra, their range has been drastically fragmented in recent years due to deforestation,
damming of rivers, and illegal trade.
On Friday, October 19th the Twycross Zoo welcomed a female Brazilian Tapir calf to Muffin (mom) and Pele (dad). The healthy calf has been suckling well and exhibiting bursts of exuberance, romping around her enclosure and then retreating to the indoor area for a snooze.
Tapirs give birth to a single youngster after a gestation period of about 13 months. The baby has a striped and spotted coat which she will lose as she grows older. Brazilian Tapirs are found in lowland regions of northern and central South America and listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist. This young female Tapir born only a week ago at Twycross Zoo will play a very important role in the European Breeding Programme of this species.
A newborn Malayan Tapir calf is alive and doing well thanks to the heroic efforts of two Denver Zoo staff members. On September 3, Denver Zoo's female Tapir, Rinny, gave birth inside the Rhino/Tapir building of Toyota Elephant Passage. Staff watched as Rinny unsuccessfully attempted to free the infant from inside its amniotic sac. Assistant Curator of Toyota Elephant Passage Rebecca McCloskey safely separated mother and calf then freed the newborn from the sac for inspection. Together with staff veterinarian Gwen Jankowski, they began providing mouth to snout rescue breaths and manually stimulated the baby for regular breathing and in order to expel liquid from his lungs. After a few minutes of rescue efforts, the infant successfully began to breathe on his own. The scene was captured on video tape inside the zoo's Toyota Elephant Passage exhibit.
"It's always a little scary when something like this happens, but thankfully we all have great resources and training," says McCloskey. "It was such a relief to see him finally take those first breaths."
Photo credits: Denver Zoo
Thanks to the zoo staffers' efforts, the young infant named Dumadi is now walking and swimming just fine. The Tapir is currently doing well with his mother behind the scenes. This is the first birth of his species at the zoo and the first birth of any species in Toyota Elephant Passage.
Dumadi, named for the Indonesian word meaning "becoming," is the first birth for both Rinny and his father, Benny. Benny was born at the City of Belfast Zoo in Ireland in 2006 and arrived at Denver Zoo from Toronto Zoo in 2007. Rinny was born at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo in 2007 and came to Denver Zoo from there in 2010. The two 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. Fortunately, the couple has proved to be an excellent match.
See the rescue and the baby's first swim below!
As adults, Malayan Tapirs have a distinctive color pattern that some people say resembles an Oreo cookie, with black front and back parts 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 and protect them from predators.
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. They stand more than 3-feet-tall and can stretch from between 6 to 8-feet-long. They can also weigh more than 1,100 pounds. They are also excellent swimmers and spend much of their time in water. They can even use their flexible noses as snorkels!
Malayan Tapirs are the only Tapir native to Asia. Once found throughout Southeast Asia, they now inhabit only the rainforests 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.
Only 15 months ago, Zoo Tel Aviv's 7-year-old Tapir mother gave birth to her first calf. Now the zoo is celebrating the arrival of its first male ever male calf. The spotted bundle of joy weighs only 11 pounds and has already begun to explore his exhibit. Now experienced mother Passiflora has demonstrated outstanding mothering skills, but to ensure that her baby gets enough milk, keepers coax her to lie on her side with belly rubs. Father Tapiro is spending these first days separated from mom and her calf to allow them a stress free bonding period.
Brazilian Tapirs are considered "vulnerable" to extinction. Zoo Tel Aviv and its Tapir pair are playing a part in Tapir conservation through the EEP (European Endangered Species Program).
The big news at The Czech Republic's Zoo Brno is the arrival of a new born Brazilian Tapir. The calf's parents are named Cusco and Neny, and Zoo Brno has asked its fans what the baby's name should be. What do you think she should be named?
Native to the lowland regions of northern and central South America, Brazilian Tapirs eat fruits, leaves, stems, sprouts, small branches, grasses, aquatic plants, tree bark, aquatic organisms, and cane, melon, cocoa, rice, and corn from plantations. They are considered vulnerable to extinction because of habitat destruction.
On the morning of August 24th, a baby Malayan Tapir named Betong was born at The Netherlands' Artis Zoo. Within an hour of his arrival, Betong was successfully nursing and standing firm on his four feet. That following Tuesday, the spotted male Tapir baby was out on exhibit for the first time. The endangered Malayan Tapir is threatened mainly by human activity such as deforestation for agriculture. Artis Zoo participates in European breeding program aimed at developing a viable breeding population of Malayan Tapirs. In addition to breeding this rare and unusual species, Artis conducts extensive research into the development cycle of Tapirs in the womb.
Dublin Zoo has a new arrival! Born early on Tuesday, June 5, this tiny male Tapir calf is off to a terrific start. This is mother Rio and father Marmaduke's first calf together.
Team leader Eddie O’Brien, said, “We are delighted with the birth of the tapir calf. Mum and calf are doing very well and we are really happy with how well Rio is doing as a first time mum. The calf was up and about quickly after he was born, he is really inquisitive!”
Photo credits: Patrick Bolger Photography
Tapir calves are born with a number of white spots and stripes which act as camouflage in the wild. The spots and stripes mimic the dappled sunlight on the forest floor but these markings will disappear by adulthood. Although this is Rio’s first calf, Marmaduke has successfully fathered 17 tapir calves to date.
Learn more about Tapirs after the jump and see many more outstanding images of Ireland's newest little watermelon!
A newborn South American Tapir lies next to her mother at the Debrecen Zoo in Debrecen, Hungary. The baby, a female, was born on April 15 after a 13-month gestation. She weighed a little over 13 pounds (6000 grams). Her parents, Sam and Luna, came to the zoo in March 2011 as part of a species conservation program. The baby will be raised together with her parents for almost a year.
Tapirs are endangered; their numbers have declined in the wild mainly due to a shrinking habitat and poaching for both their hide and meat.
