Woodland Park Zoo Press Release

What:
Woodland Park Zoo’s newest baby, a female Malayan tapir, will make her first appearance to the public today. The unnamed calf was born July 3 and represents the fourth birth for her 12-year-old parents and the only birth of the species over the last year in North American zoos.

Pond turtle being weighed
Baby tapir - one week old
Photo: Ryan Hawk

Due to temperature needs for newborn tapirs, public viewing hours are weather permitting. When the mother and calf are not on view, visitors may view the baby tapir real time on a closed-circuit monitor at the tapir shelter in the Trail of Vines exhibit. Video also can be seen on YouTube.

When:
Thursday, July 26, 2007, noon.

Where:
Meet at the zoo’s ARC building near the West Entrance at N. 55th St. & Phinney Ave. N. PR staff will escort you Trail of Vines. The ARC is a locked building. If late, enter through the admissions booth and walk to Trail of Vines.

Info:
A newborn tapir looks much like a watermelon on four legs – a reddish-brown coat dappled with white and cream-colored spots and stripes. The striped pattern, which helps provide excellent camouflage in bamboo or reed jungles, begins fading after a few months with adult coloration appearing by 5-8 months old. Tapirs are among the most primitive large mammals in the world, changing little in appearance in the past 15 million years. At first glance the prehistoric-looking animal looks like a massive pig with a long snout. However, its closest relatives are the horse and rhinoceros. The average weight for adult Malayan tapirs is 750 pounds, although they can weigh up to 900 pounds.

The Malayan tapir is the only Asian species among the four tapir species. Endangered, it is native to Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Myanmar, southern Thailand and possibly Laos.

The Tapir Taxon Advisory Group is among 35 conservation breeding programs that the zoo participates in, including the western lowland gorilla, Aruba Island rattlesnake, red-crowned crane and Sumatran tiger. Under the auspices of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA), the cooperative breeding programs work to ensure genetic diversity and demographic stability in North American zoos and aquariums.

Summer hours: 9:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. daily. Admission through September 30: Adult (13-64) $15; Child (3-12) $10. Free for children 2 and under year round. Seniors and people with disabilities receive a discount and zoo members receive free zoo admission year round. For more information, visit www.zoo.org or call 206.684.4800.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.