This Malayan tapir, born in October, 2015, hangs out with mom Indah at the Prague Zoo. The calf is the first Malayan tapir born in Prague in 40 years, a zoo milestone for this endangered species. From Zooborns:
Malayan Tapirs are primarily solitary creatures, marking out large tracts of land as their territory, though these areas usually overlap with those of other individuals. Exclusively herbivorous, the animal forages for the tender shoots and leaves of more than 115 species of plants, moving slowly through the forest. When threatened of frightened, the tapir can run quickly, and despite its bulk, it can also defend itself with strong jaws and sharp teeth. They are mainly active at night, but are not exclusively nocturnal.
The gestation period of the Malayan Tapir is about 390-395 days, after which a single offspring is usually born, weighing about 15 lbs. (6.8 kg). All species of tapir are born with brown hair and white stripes and spots, a pattern that enables them to hide effectively in the dappled light of the forest. The baby camouflage fades into adult coloring at about four to seven months of age. Calves are weaned between six and eight months of age.
The zoo reports that Malayan tapir numbers have dropped by more than half in the last three generations throughout the tropical lowland rainforests of Southeast Asia, reducing their population to around 5,000 animals. The main cause of their endangered status is a loss of their habitat to palm oil plantations, logging, and other human land uses.
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