A heartwarming donation and letter

First, I like to start blog posts with a photo, and I came across this cool picture either from the Santa Barbara Zoo in California, or the Virginia Zoo. I wish I had labelled it at the time. It was sent to me in 1996, and the date on the photo is June 2, 1996. The difference in size between mom and baby Baird's tapir is clear to see. I love the poses, and it's one of the rare photos in which you can see the stripe pattern on the baby's back.

This post is actually about a mother and her son and the son's friend. They are not tapirs, but humans. Kay wrote to us in June 2008, and included a check for $77.15:

My son Maxwell collected this money for the tapirs. We have a couple of them here at our Fresno Chaffee Zoo and he has taken a real interest in them. He researched them online and found your website. He printed out pictures and created a notebook with facts and photos. He along with his friend Bronson did a presentation to their 5th Grade class, and over the course of 2 months of passing a jar around with pictures of tapirs on it managed to collect this money.

He also started a T is for Tapir Club where they wear their T-shirts and go around telling everyone how great [tapirs] are.

When I called your organization to find out how you would like me to send the money (not a box full of loose change! Ha! Ha!) I was told you could send a certificate to each of the boys. I know that would make them feel good so I'm going to put their addresses at the bottom.

Thank you and give a tapir a hug for us!

Kay in California

New tapirs at Mountain View

A Malayan (or Asian) tapir baby follows its parent at the Mountain View Conservation Breeding Centre in BC, Canada, near Langley. Here the tapirs have unusually large enclosures. Mountain view has two pair of Asian tapirs and has recently aquired a male mountain tapir to pair with their female. Word has it that the two get along famously. This makes only three pair of mountain tapirs in captivity anywhere.

Mountain View has two pair of Asian tapirs. All of their tapirs live in extremely generous enclosures (almost the wrong word, since you cannot - or can barely - see one side from the other). One enclosure for the Asian tapirs has steep ravine and a heavily-wooded landscape where the tapirs gallop surprisingly fast and show their abilities as climbers. Each pair enjoys a small lake. One of the features here is that both parents are left together to raise the infants. This process has been successful at Mountain View and has made for some interesting observations and viewing.

Both of the above photos are from the Mountain View Web site. The calf was born sometime during this past winter, so please follow the link above, phone ahead and ask about the baby if you're expecting to see stripes and spots. They may be faded by this time as the calf has been growing.