Baby tapir to be named

Those visitors to Prague Zoo who are at the South American tapir exhibit at 11 a.m. on Sunday will be the first to learn the female tapir’s name. Author Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo.

The female tapir, in her fetching “striped pyjamas”, is the first offspring of Taluen, a female who came to Prague Zoo two years ago from French Guiana. Her father is Tex, a male who also has a very interesting non-European origin. Therefore, the calf bears unique genes that are not at all present in European breeding efforts.

Sunday's baptism starts at 11am at the South American tapir enclosure near the Darwin Crater in the lower part of the zoo. It will also include a signing session for the photo book Silent Zoo, which will be for sale. After some opening speeches, the name the keepers have chosen for the female tapir will be revealed. Her godfather will be the Deputy Mayor of Prague Petr Hlubuček.