JOHOR BARU: The Johor Zoo has another reason to celebrate — a second tapir was born in captivity on New Year’s day.
The two-week-old tapir, named Muharram, was born to Minah and her mate Buta.
His “brother”, Saffar, was the first tapir to be born in the zoo in 2008.
Head zookeeper, Mohd Sham Mahdon, was overjoyed with the birth, which came as a surprise.
“We did not know she was pregnant as we saw no physical changes,” he said yesterday.
New Year’s baby: Muharram (front) resting beside his mother at the tapir enclosure at the Johor Zoo. In the back is his ‘brother’, Saffar “Ours is the only zoo in the state that has a tapir born in captivity,” he said, adding that the parents mated regularly.
Mohd Sham said Buta was so-named because he had a cataract in his left eye.
Tapirs, he said, were shy animals and seldom gave birth in captivity.
“This is a very good start to our Tapir Breeding Programme as the animal is a fully protected species,” he said, adding that Muharram was born on New Year’s day.
Mohd Sham said that besides the newborn tapir, the zoo had also welcomed two male Nile hippopotami in the last two years.
The hippos, named Abang and Adik, are two years old and a year old respectively.
Both were born through an exchange programme between Zoo Negara and the Johor Zoo.
The zoo also is home to an assortment of primates, tigers, lions, reptiles and birds.
date: January 23, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment