Acclaimed conservation expert and city attraction Chester Zoo recently announced the arrival of a rare Malayan tapir baby.
The birth of the new female calf has been hailed by the zoo as an important event for the conservation of what is now an endangered species.
Named Nessa, the female calf was born to parents Betong and Margery on Wednesday, November 30 in the early hours of the morning. After a 391-day pregnancy, Nessa entered the world weighing only 9kg.
Chester Zoo is one of only two UK zoos presently caring for the rare type of tapir, which is a species marked by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as endangered on its Red List of Threatened Species.
Estimates suggest that there are fewer than 2,500 of the Tapir species across Sumatra, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia, with mass deforestation, illegal logging and hunting blamed for the decline in numbers. Over the last four decades, over half of the Malayan tapirs in the world have been lost.
Director of Animal and Plants for Chester Zoo, Mike Jordan, said that the Zoo is “over the moon” after the birth of Nessa, commenting on its ongoing conservation work:
“Here at Chester Zoo, we’re doing all we can to reverse that and carve out a brighter future for the species. Margery’s precious calf is a highly significant new arrival who will add valuable new genetics to the European endangered species breeding programme.”
Those interested in conservation can learn more about tapirs and other species with a visit to Chester Zoo, which provides a home for over 27,000 animals.
