Malayan Tapir Calf – Stripes Are Out, Spots Are In

The spot-covered Malayan tapir calf was born in the morning hours of Thursday, October 15. Photo: Petr Hamerník

“I had been looking forward to this dotted star of ours ever since the day back in August 2010 when we acquired a pair of Malayan tapirs born at Edinburgh Zoo. However, the pair were siblings, so we could not harbor any hope of a baby until the arrival of Niko, a new male, in 2011. Anyone looking at this wonderful baby should bear in mind that the Malayan tapir is an endangered species. The main culprit to blame for this is the spread of oil-palm plantations. We are consuming palm oil in countless types of products, ranging from foodstuffs to cosmetics. We should be trying to reduce its consumption. That is why we and the operators of our restaurant facilities have agreed on a precondition: namely, that they will use other types of vegetable oils in the preparation of meals,” said Prague Zoo Director, Miroslav Bobek.

The spot-covered Malayan tapir calf was born in the morning hours of Thursday, October 15. Its mother, Indah, is a well-known celebrity featured in Prague Zoo’s Meet Them campaign and in a book called The Stars of Prague Zoo. She was born at Edinburgh Zoo in September 2008 and, when she was not even two years old, she came to Prague – on August 26, 2010. This seven-year-old female has now become a mother for the first time. The proud father is Niko, who was born in Berlin in December 1996 and was moved to Prague Zoo on April 19, 2011 to become Indah’s partner.

In the Czech Republic, only two zoos have Malayan tapirs: Prague Zoo and Zlín Zoo. In Europe as a whole, you will find a total of 52 Malayan tapirs living in various breeding institutions, but European breeding programs have produced only six calves over the past year.

Prague Zoo has had Malayan tapirs since 1967. However, our attempts to breed them had been unsuccessful. The first (and until now the last) Malayan tapir calf to be born at Prague Zoo came in 1976, but, unfortunately, it died the very same day. A new era in our breeding efforts started in 2010 with the arrival of Indah.

During the last three generations, Malayan tapir numbers have dropped by more than a half. The main causes of this decline are the logging of tropical forests for exotic timber and the massive transformation of lowland rainforests into cultivated land – for instance, oil-palm plantations. Because of that, many tapirs have lost their habitats, and others are now living isolated lives in the remaining pockets of forest, where they struggle to find suitable mates. Their total population is estimated to include a mere 5,000 individuals, which are surviving in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra. The Malayan tapir has already disappeared from other parts of its former range.