Walking Watermelon Born in Tacoma Zoo
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Washington announced the birth this week of a rare, endangered Malayan tapir calf. The new arrival is only the second tapir born at the zoo in its 120-year history.
“The newborn, covered in distinctive white spots and stripes that resemble a tiny, walking watermelon, is considered healthy. Mother Yuna, 10, is also doing well,” the zoo announced on its website. “The calf’s father, Baku, is also 10 years old.”
The zoo’s veterinary staff has been mostly hands-off this week as they allow the babe to bond time with Yuna. They estimate that the little beast weighs about 20 pounds. If he or she (appropriate pronoun as yet undetermined) is anything like the parents, it will eventually tip the scales at 850 pounds or so.
The Malay tapir (Tapirus indicus) is indigenous to the dense tropical rainforests of southern Burma, Malaysia, southeast Thailand, and Sumatra. The species is among the oldest mammals, going back tens of millions of years when it shared the Earth with dinosaurs. These days they are threatened by deforestation, which is to say us. There are an estimated 2,500 surviving in the wild.
The baby calf’s sex and name will be announced in the coming weeks, and zoo visitors will be able to see the newborn some time in the spring, by which time it will have a name.
This short video of the new arrival is worth a look – and a listen (who knew a baby tapir sounds like a bird?).
Photo credit: Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
