TACOMA, Wash. – Yuna, a 9-year-old Malayan tapir at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, is estimated to be 10 to 12 months pregnant. Yuna’s partner, 9-year-old Baku, is the father.
The gestation period for tapirs is about 13-14 months long, and calves weigh around 22 pounds at birth.
Yuna already receives a healthy, balanced diet of various fruits, vegetables, specially formulated grain, hay, and browse, and staff will be monitoring her weight and behavior closely to determine any additional nutritional requirements in the remainder of her pregnancy. She is also receiving monthly ultrasounds.
“Yuna has been trained to remain calm and still during wellness exams, which allowed our veterinary and keeper staff to confirm her pregnancy through ultrasound,” said Curator Telena Welsh.
Welsh added that Yuna’s care team has been giving her additional scratch-down sessions, similar to back rubs, to make her feel comfortable as she adds additional weight.
“Not only does Yuna appear to enjoy the massage, but it allows the keeper and veterinary teams to do additional health checks on both Yuna and, eventually, the calf,” said Welsh. “With the added weight of pregnancy, staff are paying special attention to her mobility and feet, often giving additional pedicures to keep them healthy.”
Baku and Yuna were paired through a recommendation by the Species Survival Plan®. This managed breeding program aims to ensure the continuation and genetic diversity of the North American tapir population. This is the pair’s second calf and only the second calf in the zoo’s 119-year history.
For their first several months of life, tapir calves are endearingly compared to watermelons. They are a distinct blackish-brown color with white stripes and spots or splotches on their bodies. This configuration helps the fragile newborns stay better camouflaged among the foliage.
Adult tapirs have black heads, long black snouts and are black for about the first third of their bodies before the dark color gives way to a gray back and abdomen, with black hind quarters, sitting atop four sturdy, hooved black legs.
Tapir calves nurse until about six months and typically remain with their mothers until they are 12 to 18 months old. Adult female tapirs can grow up to about 1,000 pounds; males, the smaller of the species, can top 800 pounds. Yuna weighed 846 pounds at her last weigh-in, and Baku tipped the scales at 783.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the species is endangered, and their numbers are decreasing in the wild as their natural habitat is lost to human development.
Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium has cared for Malayan tapirs for many years. Zoo guests may be able to see Yuna’s growing “baby bump” in one of the Asian Forest Sanctuary habitats.
