Brand new stuffed tapir on the way!

This newly designed, completely charming stuffed tapir is coming soon to Tapir and Friends Wildlife World Gift Shop online. Check it out and pre-order for shipment in August 2008. Our initial stock will be limited, as these quality stuffed animals are made my hand and imported in small numbers. We think that he/she is gorgeous! We hope you do, too.

New plastic tapir!

A new plastic tapir, or new tapir toy of any description is a rare event and should be celebrated! Want to help name the tapir? One free plastic tapir just like this one is the prize! Our new plastic tapir is lifelike, soft and squeaky, and has ALMOST the right number of toes. Read more about the tapir and the naming contest (valid through January 31, 2008) in Tapir and Friends Wildlife World Online Gift Shop. Participants from all countries are welcome. We'll ship your winning tapir anywhere!

Baby Mountain Tapir Made by Sergio Sandoval for Tapir and Friends Animal Store

(Originally posted on "Tapirs" Google Group.)

I wouldn't be telling the truth if I didn't say that the resin tapir (made especially for TPF) is CUTER THAN THE PHOTO. This teeny little guy was hard to photograph with the high-contrast white on dark chocolate background. Here's the story:

When we couldn't find a commercially-made plastic baby tapir, we had one made in resin. We call this little guy "Tapircito" (little tapir). At 2 inches from nose to tail, he is totally adorable and definitely "cito." Artist/biologist Sergio Sandoval created our resin baby mountain tapir especially for the Tapir Preservation Fund (TPF) to help raise money for tapir conservation in Colombia and other tapir range countries. Your purchase helps support field projects, genetic studies, and more. Sergio brought his unique artistic perspective to this creation. Tapircito is not only very cute, but also detailed and realistic. The short lines cast into the resin clearly represent the long fur of mountain tapir calves (as the babies are called). There are four toes on each front foot and three on each rear foot as in real tapirs. Not static as many plastic animals tend to be, Tapircito stands with his head curved to the left in a charmingly attentive pose. Our baby mountain tapir was first sculpted in clay by Sergio, then cast in resin at a factory in Bogotá, and finally painted by Sergio and his sister Marcela (also a biologist) using durable nontoxic paints made in the USA.

-- Sheryl (aka Tapirgal)

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