Chester Zoo has welcomed the birth of a rare Malyan tapir which it has hailed as an “important moment” for the conservation of the endangered species. The zoo is one of just two in the UK currently caring for the Malayan tapir, which is listed as endangered on the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Species.
Named Nessa, the female calf was born to parents Margery and Betong, both aged ten, in the early hours of November 30. Weighing just 9kg, her arrival followed a 13-month-long pregnancy.
It’s estimated that there are fewer than 2,500 tapirs remaining across Malaysia, Sumatra, Thailand and Myanmar, with hunting, illegal logging and mass deforestation blamed for a decline in number. More than half of the world’s Malayan tapirs have been lost in the last 40 years, CheshireLive reports.
