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Singapore Zoo ~ June 21, 2009

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)

Photo by Annemarie Hasnain

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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A Friendly Baird's Tapir at La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center

La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center, Costa Rica ~ June 21, 2009

Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii)

Photos by Annemarie Hasnain

Annemarie wrote: "I've attached photos of a tapir we met at La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center in Costa Rica. He/She saw us and came across his enclosure to hang out with us. He was so sweet and curious and just seemed to enjoy checking us out as much as we enjoyed checking him out. It was a very special part of the trip!"

Check out this link to the tapir page at the rescue center and enjoy the photos. Maybe you will be the next volunteer!

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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A Shelf of Tapir Art

Astoria, Oregon ~ October 21, 2001

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This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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Reflections in a Tapir's Eye

Seattle, Washington ~ May 5, 2008

Woodland Park Zoo

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)

I'm posting these photos today to take part in James's Weekend Reflections, but I've been meaning to post them for some time. It's not often that you get to see a tapir eye this closely. The glass-fronted enclosure allows you to see the tapirs very close much of the time. The white blobs on the right side of the second photo are unfocused reflections of a "T is for Tapir" t-shirt, white on black, although the tapir on the shirt is a different species (Baird's tapir) from the one in the photos above (Malayan tapir).

I also find it so strange and somehow both comforting and frightening to look at an animal's eye this closely. How can we think of harming, neglecting, killing, or eradicating an animal who looks out of something that reminds us so much of our own eyes? We are kindred. How can we think otherwise?

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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Remembering Heidi

Heidi Frohring

April 6, 1967 - May 1, 2005

Memorial site / Memorial page

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Visit to Dudley Zoo

Click here for the article

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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Bones of a Lowland Tapir's Foot

Copyright Editorial Kapellusz, S.A.

Buenos Aires, 1966

Click to image to enlarge

Lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

Left forefoot (left) and rear foot (right)

Thanks to a query about the bones of a tapir's feet, I found an old poster in my archives and photographed part of it. I'll put the rest of the poster online when I get a chance. Note that the feet of the four tapir species may show differences, as may the feet of individual animals.

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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Three Photos from France to Help Raise Awareness for World Tapir Day, 2010

Photos by MJP

(Mr and Msse POTEAUX ~ e Mans, FRANCE)

CERZA Zoo Park in Hermival-les-Vaux, Calvados, Normandy

Three wonderful tapir photos arrived by e-mail today with the message that we could use them on the site to help publicize World Tapir Day, 2010.

Please enjoy the photos and follow the link to learn more about World Tapir Day and take part in the activities and fundraising! And, many thanks to you in Le Mans. . . .

The Poteaux family sponsors these lovely tapirs and visits them often.

Merci infiniment des belles photos!

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.
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Jan 10, 2010: Snow Tapir!

By David Beilby

Originally posted on "Tapirs" Google group

January 10, 2010

David wrote:

Here in the UK we have had much more snow than we have most winters. My son Jonathan decided to fashion this creation which is sadly even more endangered than the real thing.

Hopefully this will brighten up your winter's day!

Best Regards,

David Beilby

---

Reply by Sheryl:

Hey, I even see a carrot! Thanks so much for posting this! We're having a cold winter, too, but no snow yet in Astoria, Oregon. Lots of rain, and no snow tapirs! In fact, this may be a first. I've seen a sandcastle tapir done by Sally Woodcock. It seems you English are advanced when it comes to these creations. . . .

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

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Tapir Preservation Fund (TPF) ~ Catching up on donations and funding ~ What have we been doing?

A recent e-mail from Caitlin gave me the excuse I needed to post some numbers and an explanation:

December 16, 2009

Dear Caitlin,

Thank you for asking what we've been doing in 2009, since the Tapir Gallery Web site has not been updated recently. It seems that the last thing I get around to is putting current info on the site. This is truly unfortunate, and it should be done regularly. We've been keeping busy over here, as you'll see in a minute. I kept looking for a good format for donation and disbursement info on the site, and came up with several formats that didn't really work. The format is hard to understand and is incomplete. At least I should put it on the info on the blog, and I do have some clarity for public announcements in 2010. For now, here it is what I have for the past four years.

None of the years addressed on the web site as it is right now reflects the whole picture. Here are the actual totals going back to 2006:

2006

. Contributions income: $3,452

. Donations from TPF to the field: $2,700

The difference was used by the Tapir Preservation Fund internally.

2007

. Contributions income: $10,415

. Donations from us to the field: $19,492

The difference was paid from our gift shop sales.

2008

. Contributions income: $4,972

. Donations from TPF to the field: $17,467

The difference was paid from our gift shop sales.

2009 Year to Date (Dec 16)

. Contributions income: $3,261

. Donations to the field: $2,951

We still have money to send to the field, see below.

2009's donations went to:

. Wilson Novarino (Sumatra, Asian tapir)

. Sergio Sandoval (Colombia, Mountain tapir genetics)

. Kendra Bauer (USA/Costa Rica, Baird's tapir)

We will soon be sending over $1,000 to two projects, one of which is still to be determined.

What we've been doing with our time this year is that we've been improving the gift shop. We installed a new shopping cart to be up with the times (and our old one was discontinued by the credit card company), and that was a huge effort getting everything to work right. We've been upgrading the store in many ways and trying to make ends meet in the slow economy. Hopefully this next year I'll have time to work more on the tapir web site and also work more with various tapir colleagues working in the field. I have ideas for new fundraising projects, and I may think about bringing back Club Tapir once the economy begins to recover. It became more time-consuming than it was worth for the amount we collected in donations.

Many thanks to all of you who have helped with your ideas, photos, and donations!

Here's to a creative, productive, and prosperous 2010 for everyone. . . .

All the best,

Sheryl

Is this too cute? Baby Malayan tapir photos from Antwerp Zoo . . .

These are some of the best tapir photos I've ever seen. They were sent recently by Inge, taken at the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium. They're so striking, so nicely photographed, I'll just let them speak for themselves! (Thank you, Inge!!!) If you use them other than for your own enjoyment or as a school project, please, please credit the photographer. If you need more information, contact me at sheryl@tapirback.com.

Ten special mountain tapirs

Special Note

This piece was made in Colombia for the Tapir Preservation Fund by researcher/artist Sergio Sandoval. We have only 10 available as I write this on September 25, 2009. WE PROBABLY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET ANY MORE due to new laws about testing of paint and plastics on any item that could be construed as a child's toy. Sergio would be happy to make more tapirs for us, but we don't know how Customs will view this item if we were to import them. We could call them a collector's item or figurine, but if the Customs Department believes they could be considered a toy suitable for a child 12 or under (and they are made of a durable plastic material), each shipment would be required to enter the country with a certificate of testing that would cost about $1800.00. The actual materials are safe, and the paint is a non-toxic paint made in the U.S. We imported these tapirs before testing was required. Unfortunately, we don't think we will be able to do it again. We do expect to continue to import wood carvings and other art from tapir range countries including Colombia - items that are clearly not for use by children.

Your purchase helps us support tapir conservation in the field.

Our Mountain Tapir Replica/Figurine

This realistic-looking mountain tapir is made of strong resin (you would almost think it was ceramic) and it stands firmly on its 14-toed feet. It is black in color with white highlights along the ears and around the mouth. "Mamadanta" (mother tapir) is 4 1/4 inches long and 2 3/8 inches tall. She shows distinctive and accurate detail of the fur and toes, as she was made by Tapir Specialist Sergio Sandoval of Colombia. Our mountain tapir figurine has an affectionate expression and makes an excellent gift or toy for children or adults and could work well for school show-and-tell or as a school science project. It may also become a valued item in anyone's tapir or animal collection. Check out our other tapir toys and gifts.

About Mountain Tapirs

The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is the rarest of all the tapir species with only about 2,500 left in the world. It is also the smallest in size and the only one that lives outside of tropical rainforests. It ranges high in the Andes of South America, exclusively in Colombia, Ecaudor and Northern Peru, where it spends long solitary hours, sleeping or nibbling fruits and leaves. The adult mountain tapir, called "danta" in Colombia, weighs about 300-500 pounds, has a woolly coat and white along its ear tips and around its mouth. Like other tapirs, it has a flexible nose or proboscis. It has four toes on the front feet and three toes on the back feet. The mountain tapir has been driven nearly into extinction by habitat loss and wanton hunting. Successful breeding programs exist at the Los Angeles Zoo and Colorado Springs' Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Origami: A folded paper tapir

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12043525@N04/3892136850/

What harm can be done by one road through "Eden"?

What harm is one little road? Read on . . .

http://www.physorg.com/news171814103.html

Wonderful photo of Baird's tapir in water

Hi All,

Check out Nikon Sniper's blog post of a colorful photo he took of a Baird's tapir in the water at the Milwaukee County Zoo. It's quite an unusual picture, I think. Read the first two comments for more info.

http://nikonsniper.blogspot.com/2009/09/sitting-in-cold-drizzle-all-day.html

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!

Mountain tapir photos, L.A. Zoo

These great photos of mountain tapirs at the Los Angeles Zoo showed up on a blog recently. Take a look! Nice work, Heather!

This baby tapir is way too cute!

http://www.zooborns.com/zooborns/2009/06/tiny-tapir-born-in-berlin.html

Check out this link on ZooBorns, and click on the video. Get ready for the first few seconds of the video showing the baby tapir CHEWING. I can't describe it, but you'll see for yourself. A visitor in our store today is a big tapir fan and told me about this link. Thanks, Kit!

Have fun, everyone :)

Nice tapir photo

I'm not going to use someone's photo without permission, so you'll have to link over to Flickr to see this Asian tapir at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin. The photo is by "Swhise."

Excellent tapir airticle in the NY Times

Read about the tapir conservation work of Carl Traeholt in the New York Times article, "New Research on Malaysia’s Odd, Elusive Tapir." It reports on current work in the field of tapir conservation in Southeast Asia and gives up-to-date population estimates for the species. This photo of a tapir caught by the camera trap is from the Times article. My thanks to Jordan Shenhar for bringing the piece to my attention.

Not only is this an excellent article, but it's good news for the tapirs to be featured in such a prominent publication!

Sheryl