Brazilian tapirs ~
Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle
Click on any photo to enlarge.
All photos on this page are Copyright © 1994/1995 by Michele and Scott Stansbury.
Michele Stansbury (human) with Brazilian tapirs Donna (the mom) and 3-day-old PJ at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. These pictures, taken by Michele's husband, Scott Stansbury, show PJ and Michele, as PJ was having her very first contact with a human. Born May 19, 1994, her name comes from the striped "pajamas" worn by all baby tapirs. The Brazilian tapirs at Woodland Park Zoo were extremely tame, and Donna allowed Michele visitation rights without any problem. Michele and Scott Stansbury are both volunteer keeper-aides.
. . . In fact, Donna was so accepting of Michele, she let her feel the baby kick about a week before giving birth.
These photos show PJ and her mom, Donna, as PJ grows up. PJ, Donna, and PJ's father, Spike (shown below) all have the light faces and chest common to some Brazilian tapirs. Others, like Stanley, the tapir I raised, have an overall dark color. Donna was born at the zoo in Chester, England. On her father's side, Donna is at least 3rd-generation captive bred in one of her lines, coming from Ireland and Holland by way of England. I'm still working on her lineage and that of many other tapirs in captivity. The light color of the tapirs' eyes in these photos is due to the flash used for the indoor pictures.
This is PJ nursing. Tapirs often nurse their young in a lying down position. It is a more primitive style than that of the horse, in which the mother stands when nursing its young. Tapirs have two teats, and almost always have only one young at a time. Twins are extremely rare. You can see that PJ is growing out of the stripes around her face. This is also an interesting shot of a tapir foot, the back one having three toes.
Here PJ (left) is about 3 months old, with her mom, Donna. This photo shows a couple of interesting views of the sagittal crest that helps define their species. Some think it developed as a protection from predators such as big cats that attack the back of the neck, but no one knows for sure.
"It itches right THERE!" Scott and Michele obviously know where Donna's best scratching spot is! I've never heard of a tapir that doesn't love to be scratched. Tapir-scratching comes in useful for all sorts of things, including injections and other veterinary procedures. You can get a tapir to lie still by "scratching it down." It will usually sit, then flop to the ground, and even roll over.
More scratching. Are these contented tapirs, or what? Michele says, "Donna really had no dignity . . . anything for a scritch! One time when she flopped over for a tummy rub, one of the zoo visitors asked if I had darted her!" Scott manages to scratch two at once; it looks like all three are enjoying it! Be sure and catch PJ's tongue in the second photo.
Michele peels a banana for PJ and Donna. Here PJ is a year old and has lost her baby stripes. One reason I like this photo is because it shows the way a tapir walks with its nose constantly checking out the smells on the ground, while its toes are used to grip a difficult surface. Tapirs are good climbers as well as good smellers. You can also see how muscular this tapir is under her thick hide. On the right, Donna goes for a swim in the moat.
Meet Spike, PJ's elegant father. He also had a gentle disposition, though was a bit more skittish. Michele said she had to talk to him and let him know it was her before she approached. Spike came to the Woodland Park Zoo from the Bronx Zoo in New York, where he was born in 1982.
In October 1995, Donna and Spike were sold to dealers in order to make room for Malayan tapirs in a new exhibit when the South American exhibit was torn down. PJ was donated to the zoo in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Many thanks to Michele and Scott Stansbury for the use of these wonderful photos!
All tapirs are endangered species.
Saving tapirs helps save the rainforest.
|| Lowland tapir: Photos of Living Tapirs ||
|| Tapirs in Pictures Main Page ||
|| Focus on the lowland tapir ||
|| The Tapir Gallery Opening Page ||
Write to us: tapir@tapirback.com
