malayan tapirs

P

patrick

Well-Known Member
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:
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
 
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?
 
well they 2 tapir have only just moved in to the new enclousure , the other was very open , it been goin on for ages
 
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
 
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
 
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.
 
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
 
patrick said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
Writhedhornbill said:
Twycross recently lost their male. Maybe they could pair up their female with Edinburgh's new Calf?
Click to expand...

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.
 
Writhedhornbill said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top