The “Young Zoo Correspondent School” column today will tell where the tapirs and capybaras at Mykolaiv Zoo are currently kept and when visitors will be able to see them.
Our visitors and followers have repeatedly asked where these animals live now, how they coped with winter, cold weather, power outages, and when they will finally move to their summer enclosures. Young biologists from the zoo visited the warm indoor facility where the tapirs and capybaras are kept and prepared this story for you:
“Tapirs have lived at Mykolaiv Zoo for quite a long time, and quite recently capybaras have also arrived.
The capybaras have grown noticeably compared to autumn, when we first saw them. They have become calmer, more sociable, and they have even been given names. The male was named Alf, and the female – Lata.
Since both capybaras and tapirs come from warm regions, they live indoors during winter, where warmth is always maintained. Inside their enclosures, a lot of dry straw has been placed to protect them from the cold. A special UV lamp has also been installed for the capybaras so they can warm themselves whenever they want, as if under the sun.
During power outages, the premises are heated with special heat devices, so the animals do not get cold.
Both tapirs and capybaras love water very much, so their enclosure has small pools where they can bathe.
Capybaras and tapirs are herbivorous animals. Their diet includes hay or fresh grass, branch fodder, special compound feed, as well as vegetables and fruits.
These animals live in South America and are used to a warm climate. Unfortunately, we do not have a winter exhibition facility for these animals, so our visitors will be able to see our tapirs and the new residents of Mykolaiv Zoo – the world’s largest rodents, the capybaras – once stable warm weather arrives.”
