Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report
This is the endangered baby Tapir which has been born in captivity and netizens have been given the chance to name the cute mammal.
The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) has been born at the Sungai Dusun Tapir Conservation Project in Selangor state of western Malaysia and the Wildlife and National Parks Department confirmed it weighed in at 8.6 kilogrammes (19 lbs).
The department celebrated the birth of the endangered tapir yesterday (Tuesday) by writing on social media to share the “good news”.
The department said the female tapir had been born to mother Mala and father Boy.
The post also asked netizens for suggestions for name for the cute calf and several names have been put forward such as ‘Amoi’, ‘Magurl’, and ‘Nur Taper’.
The Malayan Tapir is listed as ‘endangered’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List and the main threat to the Malayan tapirs is human activity, including deforestation for agricultural purposes, flooding caused by the damming of rivers for hydroelectric projects, and illegal trade.
Because of their size, growing to between 1.8 and 2.5 metres (5 feet 11 inches and 8 feet 2 inches) in length, tapirs have few natural predators.
The construction of Malaysia’s first tapir conservation centre at the Kenaboi Forest Reserve and State Park in the state of Negri Sembilan was announced in June 2019.
The construction of the centre was approved by the Federal Government and the site was confirmed by the Negri Sembilan government.
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