Baby tapir adds cuteness to Dublin Zoo!
Jun 25th, 2012 by Autumn Sunshine
Facts about the Tapir
A tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. The four species of tapirs are: the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird’s tapir and the Mountain tapir. All four are classified as endangered or vulnerable. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, including horses and rhinoceroses.
Lisa Granshaw writes
The male calf is the first baby born to mom Rio, he is the new Brazilian tapir calf born earlier this month at the Dublin Zoo! Like all tapir calves, the baby was born with white spots and stripes that mimic dappled sunlight on the forest floor, acting as camouflage in the wild. The markings will disappear when the young calf reaches adulthood.
“We are delighted with the birth of the tapir calf,” team leader Eddie O’Brien said in a press release. “Mum and calf are doing very well … the calf was up and about quickly after he was born, he is really inquisitive!” Take a look at more adorable photos of this newborn below!
Tapirs are nocturnal mammals native to the tropics of South and Central America. – Patrick Bolger Photography
My Thoughts
Wow, how very cute the baby tapir is, and what an awesome thing to have this species being preserved! Perhaps many of the animals will not be saved and will eventually become extinct. Hopefully, things will progress and more will be safe. I hope so!
What do you think? Cute baby tapir? A nice new family at the The Dublin Zoo …
Awww!
They are very cute!
I saw Tapir for first time in Mags blog and was so hooked to this weird wonderful animal…is it an elephant? is it a pig? no its Tapir lol
its so cute.read all i could about them…am so glad there are people taking care of these lovely animals…
beautiful write up Autumn..
( hey i wanted you to know i am not able to go to your blog..everytime i click it there is a wordpress info that it doesnt exist..have you closed it..or is it me please let me know so that i try again..it has been two days and i have tried almost every way but am not you blog is not opening…)
Soma Mukherjee’s latest blog is … Thomas Edison,Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and The Third Person
Hi, thanks for stopping by
they are cute 
Thanks so much Soma
I also think the Tapir is just so lovely and so unique. I’d never seen them before. Hmmm, now I’m wondering about the WP blog, it is still there, I don’t understand it. See if this works, it has to be you, we’re still getting lots of people stopping by. http://autumnsunshineandgabrielleangel.wordpress.com/