The Baird’s tapir calf loves spending time in the water and using mom as her personal jungle gym.
HOUSTON — South America’s Pantanal at the Houston Zoo just got a whole lot cuter after welcoming a baby Baird’s tapir.
The female calf was born on July 23 to mom Moli and dad Noah, weighing 18 pounds. She’s gaining two pounds a day and now tips the scales at 30 pounds!
The zoo says the tapir is curious, energetic and vocal, and she often squeaks at mom. She loves using Moli as her personal jungle gym, spending time in the water and mini zoomies.
The tapir’s watermelon-like spots and stripes serve as natural camouflage in the wild but will gradually fade over the coming months.
Baird’s tapirs are an ancient group of animals known as “Living Fossils.” They are related to the primitive horse and rhinoceros. They are also the largest land mammal in South America. Females are larger than males and can weigh up to 700 pounds.
The calf will be named by her dedicated animal care team. Starting Monday, guests can see the spotted tapir in the mixed-species habitat where she can be found living with giant anteaters, capybara, and rheas.
Guests can help save wild tapirs in South America by visiting the new calf at the Houston Zoo. A portion of each Zoo ticket and membership supports the Zoo’s tapir conservation partners in Brazil, the Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative. LTCI uses satellite collars to study tapirs and learn more about their movement. So far, 85 tapirs are being monitored, making it the largest tapir study in the world.