If you love baby animals—and frankly, who doesn't?—you're going to want to stop what you're doing and watch these videos of a calf that was born to Luna, a Baird's tapir who lives at the San Diego Zoo last month. Look at her tiny snout snort-snooting around! Look at her tiny teefs! At the end of this video, look how she struggles to climb over that log (spoiler alert, she makes it!). She couldn't be cuter!
The adorably prehensile-snouted baby currently doesn't have a name, but she will soon, after we find out the results of the public voting contest that ended today. The Times of San Diego provides details on her possible name:
the four choices are Hayetzi (a Mayan word for "moon droplet"), Ixchel (the Mayan goddess of the moon), Melancia (the Portuguese word for "watermelon"), and Soona (an Otomí name that means "moon").
They're all perfect and beautiful names, aren't they?
The Times of San Diego provides some details about Luna and her calf:
Tapirs have long pregnancies, 13 or 14 months, and generally just one baby at a time. According to the zoo, Mother Luna bonds with her calf by vocalizing, grooming, nursing her, and keeping a close eye on her at all times. The calf is starting to frolic and play with food and leaves.
Tapir calves are born with fawn-like patterns that provide camouflage in the wild. As they age, their coats change to a dark reddish-brown to black color with white accents on their chest, chin, and ears.
And the Sacramento Bee provides some information about the endangered status of Baird's tapirs:
Baird's tapirs, which were named in honor of the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird, are endangered. According to the zoo, Baird's tapirs face a number of adversaries, including hunting for sport, and loss of habitat and food supply due to cattle grazing, palm oil harvesting, and rubber plantations, the zoo said. There are only 4500 Baird's tapirs left, according to National Geographic, making each birth—including this one—a triumph of conservation for the species.
If you're in San Diego, you can see Luna and her calf at the Elephant Odyssey exhibit, where they're sharing a space with the capybaras. And if you can't make it to San Diego, check out the adorable calf on Instagram, or TikTok, or learn more about tapirs in general on the San Diego Zoo website.
