TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A pair of Malayan tapirs at the Tapei Zoo, Mosu (male) and Putri (female), birthed one of the newest members of the zoo on July 26, 2023, per a zoo press release.

Less than 10,000 tapirs exist in the wild. (Taipei Zoo photo)

The baby tapir is now one-month old and an online naming contest on the zoo's Facebook page. Putri shows maternal instincts, paying lots of attention to the feeding and cleaning of her first-born.

Scientists estimate as few as 10,000 tapirs exist in the wild, with all four existing species of tapirs (mountain tapir, Malayan tapir, Baird’s tapir, and South American tapir) listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to habitat loss and human activity.

Tapirs live in rainforests and have been around since the Eocene. (Taipei Zoo photo)

Taipei Zoo Director Chen Yi-tsun(諶亦聰) said close cooperation with the Singapore Zoo led Putri to come to Taiwan through a special loan program. Hard work by the zoo’s conservation staff allowed the two tapirs to interact and successfully breed, producing a young tapir male.

At the moment, both mother and baby are in a special conservation area of the zoo which is not open to the public.