Tenth Tapir Birth

Hoofstock keepers at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Ashford in Kent are delighted to announce the birth of an extremely rare Malayan tapir. The young male, named Manado,  was born just 10 days ago to mother Malacca and father Hunter.

This new arrival is the tenth successful tapir birth which is an excellent achievement, with the first tapir birth occurring in 1989. Now Port Lympne’s tapir house is home for two young male tapirs. Kejutan who was born 4 months ago to mother Lidaeng is developing very well.

Head Hoofstock Keeper Bob Savill is overjoyed.

Bob said: “This is Malacca’s first calf and mother and baby are both doing well. This birth is fantastic news not only for the future of tapirs but for our hoofstock keepers too – it is very special that we have two babies in the same house, at the same time.

We are confident that he will be very popular and visitors will be able to visit him during February half term.”

Malayan tapirs are born after a gestation period of approximately 13 months and are black in colour with white spots and stripes. As they reach maturity the distinctive black and white colouring comes through, this colouring is supposed to give excellent coverage in moonlit forests – tapirs are most active at night.

Malayan tapirs are endangered in the wild due to the destruction of their rainforest to make way for palm oil plantations and from increased hunting.

Visitors to Port Lympne Wild Animal Park can watch the calf’s development over the next few weeks and months when they take advantage of the passport offer. For the price of a standard entry fee the passport allows visitors to return to the park for an unlimited amount of times at no extra cost.