Madrid (Spain), 2 Apr. (LaPresse) – The first baby Malayan tapir, an endangered species of which there are estimated to be less than 2,500 individuals left, distributed between the forests of Malaysia and Sumatra, has been born in the Bioparc Fuengirola, in southern Spain. The news was reported by the Spanish public radio and television network RTVE, emphasising the exceptional nature of the event, given that in the last ten years there have only been 24 births of Malayan tapirs in captivity worldwide. The cub was born on the morning of 29th March to Rawa, a female Malayan tapir, after a gestation period of 424 days. For 20 years, the team at Bioparc Fuengirola has been working on breeding the Malayan tapir. ‘Getting a pair of Malayan tapirs to live together and reproduce is a difficult task, as they are solitary animals that only come together to mate’, explained Javier Vicent, head of zoology at the park. Previous couples have not been successful. However, the bond between Rawa and Mekong, the male who arrived more than a year ago, was immediate. ‘Not only did they tolerate each other as “roommates”, but they liked each other as a reproductive couple’, Vicent told Rtve.
© Copyright LaPresse
