Christina Visits the Tapirs at Noah's Ark

Christina Lönnblad with Lowland Tapirs

at Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in Bristol, England

See the other nine photos of Christina and the tapirs on our Facebook page. Thanks, Christina. It's nice to meet you and these friendly tapirs in photos!

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Tapirs at Macoa

Photo copyright Lee Spangler 2011

With only a few minutes available online, Lee sent me two out of about 50 photos he took of several lowland tapirs frolicking in the waters of the reserve at Macoa, Colombia. The description he gave over Skype was almost completely unexpected! (And we thought tapirs only lounged around trying to catch some zzzzs?) I'd only noted some of the behaviors once or twice during my 40+ years of watching or reading about these animals, and I hadn't heard about other behaviors at all. It was truly fascinating to hear first-hand, and I'll get him to elaborate for us once he has more time. Meanwhile, check out Lee's post on his own blog, "Lee's Daily Adventure." You'll see a couple more shots of these guys. Click on the top photo of Lee's post and notice how hard it's raining! The tapirs loved it. I remember my own tapir, Stanley K., looking to the sky and opening his mouth wide when it would rain. Lee didn't report this behavior, but you'll enjoy hearing the story when he has more time online. Check it out.

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Lowland Tapirs at Chester Zoo, England

All photos on this page copyright Mary Beaird 2007.

Our thanks to Mary for loaning us these photos of Chester Zoo's mom and baby lowland tapir. Chester Zoo has a long history of raising and breeding this species of tapir, allowing fans to see and learn about tapir babies every couple of years.

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Meena and Baby at Dudley Zoo

Dudley Zoo, Dudley, West Midlands, England ~
 February 16, 2010
Lowland tapirs Meena (the mom) and baby Ronnie

When we were in England last February, it was impossible not to stop in at Dudley Zoo in the West Midlands. I've posted pictures of the incredibly picturesque Dudley Castle, around which the zoo is built, but I have not begun to post my zoo and tapir pictures until today. We had an amazing visit, not only because there was a baby tapir, but thanks to zoo owners, staff, and especially tapir keeper Laura Robbins (whose hand you see here coaxing the tapirs out of their stall), this was one of the pleasantest zoo visits I've had in my many years of visiting zoos. The weather was perfect, the people delightful, and the tapirs, of course, too adorable for words. I took many photos and will be posting them here - hopefully several per week. I'll mix it up a little, but the main theme for the moment will be the tapirs of Dudley Zoo.

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Beatiful baby tapir photo at the Rome Zoo

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/5989838/Animal-pictures-of-the-week-7-August-2009.html?image=20

Thanks to Elaine Beckham for finding this one for us!

March 2, 2009: Twycross Zoo, UK

Photos contributed by Sarah Cooper (skoop102)
First posted on the Tapirs Google group
December 11, 2008

Sarah wrote:

Hi All.

I have added a few photographs from my recent visit to Twycross Zoo, UK.
A new pair of Brazilian tapirs are now on show.

This pair demonstrate the range of colours which 'they come in.

The female on the left has a very black face, and the male has a very pale face. She also had a very wrinkly snout and ears. He has hair sprouting from the base of his ears.

It is also to be noted that this pair both have some spots remaining on the legs (though not very visible on this photo), despite the fact that they are a few years old.

I believe they are called Muffin and Pele.

[Note: There was more to this discussion, which I'll transfer as I continue to work on dismantling the Google Group Tapirs discussion site. ~Sheryl]

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Tapirs in the snow at Dudley Zoo, UK

These four photos of lowland tapirs in the snow (January 4, 2009) were sent to me by tapir keeper Laura Robbins of Dudley Zoo, West Midlands, UK. She said the two younger tapirs shown here didn't mind the snow at all and seemed curious about it, although the older female preferred to stay indoors. I guess she didn't enjoy the cold! The tapirs' names are Meena and Izzy.

When I looked up Dudley Zoo online, I found that it is located in a picturesque 11th Century Norman castle.

There's a lot going on at the zoo in terms of education and conservation. The zoo staff also took part in a somewhat startling fundraiser this year - the keepers came to work wearing just about what the animals wear. That is . . . well, maybe you should check out this BBC video story on the event! It's done all in fun, so put on a smile and tune in! A tapir is featured as well as the keepers!

Tapirs are make an appearance on Dudley Zoo's "News" page, along with other nice animals and even some humans.

Thanks for these wonderful photos, Laura. I'll be seeing you on Facebook! (This should link to a charming picture of Laura with one of her tapirs, although you may have to join Facebook to see it, I'm not sure.)

One more thing - these pictures of tapirs in the snow can also be seen in our Picasa Web album. Have fun!

~ Sheryl

Tapir Web cam . . . you have to see this!

Check it out. Sarah Tegan posted on the Tapirs Google Group earlier today. I don't know how to bookmark it, but I've got it minimized on my desktop :)

Hello,

I'm not sure if you've seen this tapir webcam, at Noah's Ark Farm zoo in Bristol. Most entertaining!

http://stream11.finetra.co.uk/noahsark

Sarah-Tegan. xx

Happy World Tapir Day! (2008)

Originally posted by ebichu64

On the Tapirs Google group

Chester Zoo, England ~ April 27, 2008

Mary wrote:

Happy World Tapir Day everyone! My visit to Chester Zoo with my partner and a couple of friends was great. We arrived just before the tapirs were let out and fed, and surprise surprise, there were four - not three as I'd been told by the zoo only a week before. I need to find out whether it's a boy or a girl and what the name is, but here's a picture of the little sweetheart - taken through glass so not the best quality. . . .

The tapirs were pretty impatient to be let out, but of course, as soon as they were, they decided they'd much rather be back inside again! Well, it was a bit of a cold wet day really. Such sensible creatures! I've taken a lot of pictures and some video - of the tapirs and the zoo generally - and I'll start editing it all together tomorrow into, hopefully, something fun.

[See plans for World Tapir Day 2010 on the World Tapir Day Facebook page!]

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Aug 11, 2007: Tapirs at Longleat

Photos by ebichu64

First posted on Tapirs Google group

August 11, 2007

Mary wrote:

Hi all,

Better late than never, here's my little bit on the Tapirs at Longleat. Better Pics next year, I promise!

We managed to pick one of the few sunny days this year has had to offer so far, so it was no surprise to find many of the animals flat out enjoying the sudden warm weather – or maybe they had all fainted from shock. The downside of taking the safari bus was that we didn’t stop as expected at the East African reserve, where the tapirs are kept by default as there isn't a large enough South American section (yet!). The Wallabys are kept there too and they're from New Zealand...

Normally you can get out of your car, have a picnic and see the animals. The bus usually stops for 15 minutes, but not this time. This was mostly due to the amount of traffic that day; the whole tour took 30 minutes longer than expected. The upside was that we got a great view of the monkeys wrecking other people’s cars; they take a fancy to the rubber trim, the wipers, and it’s no use squirting them with the windscreen washers – to them it’s just a free drink. But I wasn’t able to get close to the tapirs as I'd hoped, and all my pictures are thanks to the nifty zoom on my camera. Next time we'll hire a car and avoid the monkeys. Might be called Harold, and finally mum, Jessie.

2. Keeping cool, dad, Jethro.

Longleat have started producing video postcasts, and number 3 has the new baby Tapir "in action". The podcasts are mostly aimed at children and so the narration is a bit... well, you'll see what I mean. "Chaps" - no one talks like that in England any more, "Honest, Guv!"

http://www.longleat.co.uk/video/july07/

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December 1972: Two lowland tapirs at Artis Zoo, Amsterdam

My notes don't give the date other than December 1972. The tapir on the right is a pregnant female, due any time. Her mate is the darker tapir on the left. I was intrigued by the difference in their coloration, as the light tapir seemed lighter than most tapirs I'd seen at that time. This image was scanned from a black and white print by Sheryl Todd.