Dudley Zoo welcomes new baby tapir
She is the latest addition to the family at a Black Country zoo.
Brazilian tapir Luna has been welcomed into the fold at Dudley Zoo.
Her mother Meena gave birth to the female youngster on May 28 following a 13-month long pregnancy and has spent the last few days tucked away in off-show dens.
The zoo captured the moment she brought her baby out in the paddock for the first time in a Facebook Live video, which hundreds of people tuned in to watch.
Assistant curator Jay Haywood said: “We’ve waited a long time to hear the pitter patter of tiny tapir feet, so we’re delighted she's finally here.
“This is Meena’s sixth baby, so she’s a very experienced mum and the baby is very strong and healthy.”
In another first, zoo keepers got dad, Chico, to choose his baby’s name by selecting a named apple.
Keepers came up with suggestions, which were then added onto the fruit, before getting Chico to pick his favourite – and Luna was the winner.
Baby tapirs are born with a distinctive spotty and striped pattern, will gradually begin fading when they reach around six months old.
The stripes help babies camouflage themselves from predators against the rainforest foliage, but they won’t disappear altogether as all tapirs retain stripes somewhere on their body.
