22.10.2024 – Source: Wilhelma Stuttgart, Photos by Petra Ballon
A small sensation with a striped pattern! There is great excitement at Wilhelma: on the 4th October 2024, a new hatchling was born to the black-backed tapir family.
This photo is by Wilhelma
The baby is called Melati. Here with mama Maya
From Monday, 7 October, visitors to the zoological and botanical garden were able to watch the mother and her newborn, whose gender is still unknown, explore their indoor enclosure together. The first excursion into the fresh air will have to wait until the calf is lively enough.
The parents of the tapir calf, which with its striped camouflage pattern is reminiscent of a wild boar calf, are six-year-old Maya from Edinburgh Zoo and Penang, who was born in Rotterdam eight years ago.
Papa Penang
Two years ago, the Wilhelma team had high hopes when a female tapir calf was born there in August 2023 for the first time since 1979. The initial jubilation was followed by disillusionment just under a year later: the young animal, named Mashuri, died at the end of July 2023 from pneumonia that had developed as a result of a purulent injury to her foot.
Of course, there are many other sweeties in Wilhelma. Here are some of them:
LJ Star
Tasmanien giant cangoroo
Kune Kune Thommy looking very happy.
Shapur and Kajal let the October sun colour their skin and hairdos golden. 🙂
The cute squirrels were active fixing food supplies for the coming Winter.
Tapir babies are among the cutest on earth with the dots and stripes. but they are also very vulnerable. I remember – some years ago – such a little one born in Zoo Antwerp. Everybody was excited, but a few months later, they found her death in the stable, also pneumonia.
Liebe Petra!
Danke, dass Du uns wieder so erfreuliche Bilder und Neuigkeiten aus der Wilhelma mitbringst!
Das Tapirkind ist wunderschön in seinen Tarnfarben und sehr süß. Glückwunsch an den Zoo für diesen seltenen und hoch willkommenen Nachwuchs! Ich hoffe, dass das Kleine groß und stark wird und wünsche ihm ein langes und glückliches Leben!
Aber auch die anderen Tiere, u.a. der naseweise Tamandua und das gemütliche dicke Schweinchen, sind jeden Besuch und jede Aufmerksamkeit wert.
Die hübschen freilebenden Eichhörnchen sind ein netter “Beifang”.
Herzliche Grüße
Anke
Dear Petra,
that’s the cutest pyjamas among the kittens, next to those of small wild boars and fawns!
Let’s hope it stays healthy and grows up. I didn’t realise they were so vulnerable and festering injuries are always dangerous.
Thank you so much, also for the other cuteness from Wilhelma!
For now, the tapir baby is everyone’s darling!
Best wishes
Britta-Gudrun
Alle guten Wünsche für den Tapirnachwuchs❣ Das kleine Tierkind hat ja eine ganz besondere Fellzeichnung und sieht entzückend aus!!👌
Vielen Dank für die schönen Fotogrüße aus der Wilhelma!!👍👏😊
Liebe Petra!
Danke für die guten Neuigkeiten aus Wilhelma. Das Tapirbaby ist sehr niedlich. Das Fellmuster ist beeindruckend.
LJ Star ist auch hübsch.
Hugs
Ludmila
Thank you very much dear Petra.
Best wishes to Melati, Maya, Penang and the other animals in Wilhelma.
Das Tapirbaby ist niedlich, danke für die Bilder