World tapir day
World Tapir Day is celebrated annually around the world on April 27. To date, it is unknown who proposed to celebrate this holiday, but we know that the first World Tapir Day was celebrated in 2008.
The purpose of the holiday is to spread information about these endangered animals.
What is this strange creature that many of us have never heard of? By the way, these animals are so unknown that the zoo visitors often take them for representatives of another species.
Tapir (Lat. Tapirus) is a large herbivorous mammal that looks a bit like a pig, but has a short, grasping trunk. This animal lives in the jungles and forest areas of South America, Central America and Southeast Asia. The name of these animals in the language of one of the Brazilian tribes means "thick" and is given, probably because of their thick skin.
There are currently five species of tapirs:
mountain tapir (Lat. Tapirus pinchaque);
South American tapir (Lat. Tapirus terrestris);
Central American tapir (Lat. Tapirus bairdii);
Malayan tapir (Lat. Tapirus indicus);
kabomani tapir (Lat. Tapirus kabomani).
Unfortunately, the main enemies of tapirs are humans. These animals are, of course, hunted by tigers, jaguars, crocodiles, bears and anacondas, but the biggest blow to the tapir population is inflicted by poachers. They kill them for meat and skin, and so far four of the five species are listed as endangered.
Tapirs need a large area of virgin land to support a genetically diverse population. They are threatened by any human activity: mining, agriculture.
Mykolaiv Zoo joins in celebration of this day.
On July 3, 2016, the inhabitants of South America, the lowland tapirs (Lat. Tapirus terrestris), came to us from Italy (Barcelona, Bussolengo, Naples). These are males Pinto, Piro and Sol.
In July 2020, the male Pinto was transferred to Feldman Ecopark for temporary maintenance and breeding.
By nature, Piro and Sol are different. Sol is calm, compliant, but Piro is mobile, expressive, he likes to be paid attention to first.
The diet of tapirs includes: hay, grass, fresh vegetables, fruits. Melons, watermelons, apples, grapes are their favorite.
And all tapirs love to swim, so our zoo has done everything necessary for the comfortable existence of tapirs. In both winter and summer enclosures, the animals have a swimming pool.
The heroes of the holiday received a bouquet of fruit tree branches as a gift and as an enrichment of their environment. These twigs themselves are a tasty food for tapirs, but we still decorated them with sweet fruits and vitamin vegetables.
Interesting to know!!! Tapirs first appeared in Mykolaiv Zoo in October, 1987. It was a whole family: male Anton with female Zorka and their three-month-old baby Emir. They came from Rostov Zoo. For all period of the maintenance of lowland tapirs (Lat. Tapirus terrestris) in Mykolaiv Zoo 6 youngsters were born, who moved to different zoos of the Soviet Union. We also offer you archival photos of our tapirs.
