A BABY tapir was born at a British zoo this weekend – just in time for World Tapir Day.
The Brazilian male tapir – as yet unnamed – was born on Saturday night at Noah’s Ark Zoo, in Wraxall, Bristol.
The baby was born after a 400-day gestation period and is the first born of the two resident tapirs – Tara, nine, and Toby, three.
He arrived live on the zoo’s webcam ahead of World Tapir Day, which aims to develop tapir awareness and conservation.
Over the past few months, visitors and members from around the world have been tuning in to the webcam eagerly awaiting the arrival of the tapir.
Head keeper Chris Wilkinson said: “We’ve had an eventful weekend here, we were watching the webcam on Saturday night in the Tapir house and we noticed Tara had gone into labour.
“Shortly after, out popped this little fellow, and as soon as we saw it happen, we rushed down here and found this little wet baby Tapir, slightly dazed but on his feet within minutes and feeding well.”
