A female Malayan tapir calf, born on August 31, has been introduced to its habitat in Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium’s Lied Jungle®.
The calf, named Sariah, is the second calf for Malacca, dam, and Dumadi, sire, both six years old. The pair’s first calf was born in 2016 at Omaha’s Zoo and Aquarium.
While Sariah is getting used to her new habitat, Zoo visitors can see her with Malacca intermittently between the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Sariah’s first recorded weight was taken on August 31st at a mere 20.5 pounds. She currently tips the scale at 129 pounds. Full-grown Malayan tapirs can weigh between 600 and 800 pounds.
Malayan tapirs are listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium has been part of the Malayan tapir Species Survival Plan (SSP) since 1992 when the Lied Jungle® first opened. There are currently 32 Malayan tapirs at 16 Association of Zoos and Aquarium (AZA) accredited institutions. This is the second Malayan tapir birth in an AZA facility this year.
Found in southern and central parts of Sumatra and on the Asian mainland in Peninsular Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar, this species lives in tropical forest areas in both primary and secondary forest and wetland areas. Malayan tapirs are solitary animals that are typically nocturnal. They are browsers that feed on more than 380 different plant species, often breaking 8 to 10-meter-tall trees to access leaves.
The gestation period for a Malayan tapir is 13 months. The calf will typically stay with the dam for up to two years.
