Every year on April 27, Mykolaiv Zoo celebrates World Tapir Day.

Tapirs live in the forests of Asia and South America. These herbivorous mammals somewhat resemble a pig with a short, highly mobile trunk. To date, 5 species of tapirs are known, the last of which, Tapirus kabomani, the smallest among all tapirs, was discovered in 2013 in the Amazon. Tapir populations are in critical decline due to hunting and deforestation. Currently, all five species of these animals are threatened with extinction. The extinction of tapirs can lead to global disturbances in the ecosystem. They carry the seeds of eaten plants over long distances, which contributes to the increase of plant diversity in their habitats.

The South American tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) Solo and Piro are kept in our zoo. Today, our visitors had the opportunity to take part in the demonstrative feeding of these animals with the participation of young biologists of the zoo. So much attention and delicious fruit! Everyone was satisfied!

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