Stanley has lunch
with his chicken
Photo by Sheryl Todd, about 1969 or 1970
Here is Stanley K. Tapir at the age of about two years, having lunch with his chicken. (It must have been a snack, because his dinner pan was much larger.) Tapirs get along well with many other types of animals. They are curious and may try to nibble feathers, but will usually not harm a small housemate on purpose. The chicken liked to hang out with Stanley and was available to clean up scraps of grain and pellets from the Trophy horse feed we gave him. Not knowing much about chickens, we got it in the first place hoping it would eat the red ants that were biting the tapir. Then Stanley and the chicken got to be friends. The chicken would sleep with Stanley in the sleeping box, perch on the back of his neck and generally follow him around. In turn, he sometimes followed the chicken. But when you're that small and that close, it can be a hazard having a 600-pound friend. It was a sad day when discovered that Stan had accidentally rolled over onto the chicken and flattened it. Eventually we got him a new one.