Tiny Tapir, Big Personality

Meet Houston Zoo’s Newest Animal

South America’s Pantanal at the Houston Zoo just got a whole lot cuter after welcoming a baby Baird’s tapir. A female calf was born overnight on July 23 to mom Moli and dad Noah, weighing 18 pounds. Now at two and a half weeks, the calf is tipping the scales at 30 pounds, gaining about two pounds a day! 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.

The tapir is becoming a curious and vocal calf who often squeaks at mom and even her capybara neighbors. She loves spending time in the water and using mom as her personal jungle gym. Her energy bursts come in the form of mini-zoomies and she’s even begun nibbling on solid foods, although she will continue to nurse for up to eight months.

For now, she’s sporting her adorable watermelon-like spots and stripes, which serve as natural camouflage in the wild. These baby markings will gradually fade over the coming months, and she’ll develop the solid dark coloration typical of adult tapirs around seven months old.

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.

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, Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative (LTCI). LTCI monitors satellite collared tapirs to learn more about their movement and use the information to help create future wildlife protection plans. So far 85 tapirs are being monitored, making it the largest tapir study in the world.