What:
While the public probably won’t see Woodland Park Zoo’s 1-month-old, male Malayan tapir out on exhibit until spring, the media are invited to a rare glimpse of the 56-pound calf behind the scenes. As a standard precaution against any illness, the infant tapir will not be going outdoors unless the temperature reaches at least 70 degrees. Thanks to a video camera, zoo-goers may view him on a closed-circuit monitor at the tapir shelter in the Trail of Vines exhibit.

The unnamed calf marks the second successful Malayan tapir birth for the 8-year-old parents. The birth is important to the captive population because his genetic line is underrepresented in North American zoos.

When:
Tuesday, October 21, 11:00 a.m.
Due to limited space, media will be permitted in the barn in groups of two and will film/photograph from a ladder.

Where:
Please enter the zoo through the ARC near the West Gate at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. Staff will escort you behind the scenes at the tapir barn.

Info:
For periodic updates, video and images of the tapir calf, see the Species Spotlight section of the zoo’s Web site where more information about the zoo’s Malayan tapirs and its conservation efforts is also provided.

Other:
Tapirs are among the most primitive large mammals in the world. At first glance, this prehistoric looking animal looks like a massive pig with a long snout. However, its closest relatives are the horse and rhinoceros. Tapirs have changed little in appearance in the past 20 million years!

Adult tapirs can weigh up to 900 pounds. The front half of an adult’s body and its hind legs are black and the rear half above the legs is white. Newborn tapirs look like walking watermelons, with reddish-brown coats, dappled with white and yellow spots for excellent camouflage in bamboo or reed jungles. The striped pattern begins fading after a few months and by 5 to 8 months old, adult coloration appears.

Only about 56 Malayan tapirs exist in the North American captive population, and three others were born over the last six months. Moreover, males are rare and much needed to sustain a viable population of this endangered species. Only about 900 to 3,000 are believed to exist in the wild.

Malayan tapirs are the only Asian tapir species and are native to the island of Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, southern Thailand and possibly Laos. They are endangered due to hunting and other human activities such as agriculture, cattle grazing, logging and flooding caused by hydroelectric projects.