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Celebrate Tapirs with the Houston Zoo

Written by Mary Fields


Bairds Tapir-0013-6217It’s a pig! It’s a bear! It’s an anteater! Those are just some of the animals that people call tapirs on a day to day basis, but you can learn exactly what a tapir is and much more at our Tapir Spotlight on Species event!

On April 23rd and 24th, the Houston Zoo will be holding a Tapir Spotlight on Species from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm each day. Throughout the day we will have fun activities for everyone to play, a photo-op, and a chance for you to help enrich our tapirs!

The Houston Zoo is home to two Baird’s tapirs, Noah and Moli. You may remember Noah from last year’s SOS, but this will be Moli’s first time celebrating World Tapir Day with the Houston Zoo! Moli came to us from Zoo New England this past summer to be our breeding female. Baird’s tapirs have a gestation that lasts about 400 days or 13 months. Baby tapirs look quite a bit different than their adult counterparts; they are born with stripes and are only about 15 pounds!tapir sos blog

The Houston Zoo will also be celebrating Earth Day on April 23 & 24. Tapirs and many other species are losing habitat due to deforestation for palm oil. Come by our tapir yard to learn all about helping tapirs and the other species that share their habitat!