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malayan tapirs

Discussion in 'General Zoo Discussion' started by patrick, 23 Feb 2006.

  1. patrick

    patrick Well-Known Member

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    i found this husbandry manual for tapirs on the net..

    www.tapirspecialistgroup.org/Downloads/ standards/tapir-TAG-husband-stan-en.doc -

    although it does not go into much detail about the eye problems that are particuarly prevalent in the asian species it does attribute it closely to not having adequate amounts of shade in the exhibit. i mentioned earlier that it was my belief that malayan tapirs are noctournal. however this document states that they may be crepsular, diurnal or noctournal though it is talking of tapirs in general and is not species specific.

    although the melbourne and sydney tapir exhibits provide adequate shade, as anyone who sits in the shade on a bright day knows, this doesn't neccersarily stop glare from surrounding sunny areas. i would be interested to know if adelaide's malayan tapirs have the same eye problems and whether any zoo has ever attempted keeping the animals in very dim holding yards or indoors during the day and only allowing them access outside at night.

    the manual also mentions that although tapirs seem somewhat inactive - large terrestrial areas for excercise and breeding behaviour is important. though i think it is not desireable, i have seen tapir exhibited without pools at all and i would guess land area is far more important than swimming space. the taronga exhibit did not look particuarly shady or large in land area, but addmittedly i have not seen it.
     
    Last edited: 23 Feb 2006
  2. Zoo_Boy

    Zoo_Boy Well-Known Member

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    tarongas arent tht bad , very effective from a visitors veiw , and the foligae will grow over a bit , and they are rotated between the exhibits

    but from wht i have seen of melbournes and adelaide , they dnt stand up gainst them for the animals ,

    also 1 of tarongas will eventually be ,mixed species , with the otters
     
  3. patrick

    patrick Well-Known Member

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    i dunno. if the tapir's eyes are so bad that they need to wear "masks" to block out the sun, clearly taronga's exhibit, no matter how attractive for visitors, is grossly inadequate. it seems unusual that the condition is broughton by sunlight alone - there may be some dietry elemant that is also missing. but if it is common knowledge that the sun aggrevates the illness. why do we insist on displaying them during daylight at the zoo?
     
  4. Zoo_Boy

    Zoo_Boy Well-Known Member

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    well they 2 tapir have only just moved in to the new enclousure , the other was very open , it been goin on for ages
     
  5. Zoo_Boy

    Zoo_Boy Well-Known Member

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    yea gday

    i was jsut on the aparza site and was reading about plans and projects for odd toed ungulates , and 1 of the biggest areas of research was health problems , and next to it malayan tapir eye probs , in all zoos
     
  6. ZYBen

    ZYBen Well-Known Member

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    Yes all the malayan tapirs at Adelaide zoo are blind
     
  7. Zoo_Boy

    Zoo_Boy Well-Known Member

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    really , we have been debating this on many forums , see tarongas both were sunglasses ! like a mask sorta thing

    so im not alone , i have had ppl sayin only tarongas have eye probs thnx mate
     
  8. patrick

    patrick Well-Known Member

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    what a terrible shame that every malayan tapir in australia has gone blind! i am somewhat facinated by this whole thing. i really want to know if this condition is just as prevalent in overseas zoos.
     
  9. Zoo_Boy

    Zoo_Boy Well-Known Member

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    coulnt tell ya mate , maybe its the ozone layer hole over australia lol
     
  10. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    Malayn tapirs are the biggest tapir, the only one to live out of south america and the most aggressive.
     
  11. Zoo_Boy

    Zoo_Boy Well-Known Member

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    why thankyou, i love malay tapir, they def look impressive and fit for life in a equatoral forest. its a shame the sun in austalia is messing with them, and focus will now shift to south american species to maintain a tapir species if a solution is not found to the eye prob

    taronga just put up huge cargo army netting above there tapir exhibits, it does take away from the overall asia precint, but at leat the tapir have there goggles off, and when in the exhibit spaces certainly looks like a dense jungle
     
  12. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    I have adopted a Brazilian Tapir at Chester zoo and have seen all 4 species of Tapir in zoos.
     
  13. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I feel sure you get too much wonderful sunshine and bright light in Australia for the Malayan Tapirs' sensitive eyes. After allt tey are a deep forest species, like Sumatran rhino -which have also suffered eye problems in captivity.

    I haven't heard of this condition among the Malayan tapirs in UK. Next visit to Port Lympne I will try and ask the keepers. They have about 8 of them, and have bred them quite well. They have very large, wooded enclosures there (one of which used to be the Sumatran rhinos ') with small wallow and pool areas. I seem to remember Tapirs like to 'deposit' in water so its often used for this purpose rather than for bathing...

    Are they nocturnal/diurnal or crepuscular? Well those at PL always seem to be asleep or invisible(or both) for what that's worth. Other zoos which have, or have recently exhibited this species, usually pairs only, in the UK are Twycross,Belfast, Marwell & ZSL (Chester had them previously) but they are fairly unusual over here. They are scattered around European & American zoos too.
     
  14. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    Twycross recently lost their male. Maybe they could pair up their female with Edinburgh's new Calf?
     
  15. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    I didn't know Edinburgh had them. They won't suffer from too much sunlight up there... Twycross always seem to only have one Malayan Tapir- but they always seem about to get a new partner. I haven't seen two at Twycross for many years now, though I have a good postcard showing a pair there in the past. I think this latest male they have lost has not been there too long.
    The Twycross enclosure is shady but rather small and basic.
     
  16. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    I went in 2000 they had a pair then. Edinburgh has had them for about 3 years now. They have just had a male Calf
     
  17. ZooPro

    ZooPro Well-Known Member

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    Weren't you just 6 years old in 2000? Boy, you must have a great memory.
     
  18. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    Well We have video clips of every zoo we go to. I have a clip of the pair of them.
     
  19. Pertinax

    Pertinax Well-Known Member 15+ year member

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    My last visit to Twycross was about two years ago. They only had one Malayan tapir again then... They need another adult rather than a baby but maybe they grow quickly..., in which case Edinburgh's could fit the bill.
     
  20. Writhedhornbill

    Writhedhornbill Well-Known Member

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    Baby tapirs are adorable. They have little stripes and Spots