Tapir calf
Cute as a watermelon
Kazu, our endangered Malayan tapir calf, was born July 12 to mom Yuna and dad Baku, and he’s thriving. But he’s not just adorable – he’s a sign of hope for an endangered species.
Kazu and Yuna will be viewable in the Asian Forest Sanctuary late morning-early afternoon on weekends, depending on the weather.
Curious calf
Tapir Timeline
Birth to 6 weeks
Mobile and curious.
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Tapir calves are born with eyes open, and can stand and walk soon after birth.
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They are brown with white spots and stripes to camouflage them in forest shade.
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6 to 12 weeks
Growing stronger.
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Calves nurse a lot, but begin exploring adult food at around 6 weeks.
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They stick close by their mother, growing strong and learning to swim.
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3-6 months
More independent.
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Calves wean at around 4-6 months.
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They also begin to lose their baby markings.
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7-18 months
Becoming an adult.
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Tapirs reach full size at 18 months.
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They are mature at 2-4 years.
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Save tapirs
THE PROBLEM: Tapirs are endangered, with only around 2,500 remaining in Thailand, Malaysia and Sumatra. A big problem is deforestation of their rainforest habitat.
HOW TO HELP: Our calf was born as part of the tapir Species Survival Program for accredited zoos. You can help tapirs by protecting their rainforest – find out how.
Jungle Stories
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium’s 9-month-old tapir calf Kazu is healthy and growing more every day. Like all Malayan tapirs, he was covered in watermelon spots and stripes when he was little, but now he has the sleek black and white stripes of an adult tapir. He still has some baby spots on his chest, … Continued
A new year, and a new decade, have everyone- even the animals at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium- making New Year’s reZOOlutions. Which animal’s 2020 resolution do you best identify with? Click any image to start viewing!
It’s a problem, just how many spots Kazu the tapir calf has. Not for him, of course – the spots are excellent camouflage. But for Dennis Parkhurst and Mason Patzer, carpenters at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the baby tapir’s watermelon-spotted coat presented a challenge: How to illuminate all those spots in a Zoolights display? … Continued