An endangered Baird's Tapir has been born at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
The zoo announced on Friday, July 9, that its three-year-old Baird's Tapir, Ixchel, had given birth to her first offspring.
The birth was a result of a successful breeding with the zoo's four-year-old male Baird's tapir, Tybalt.
The male calf was born at the zoo on July 2.
Aududbon says that Ixchel came to the Zoo from the Franklin Park Zoo in 2019 as part of an Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan recommendation to breed with Tybalt, who arrived at Audubon in 2018 from the Nashville Zoo.
"Ixchel and the new calf are doing well," said Audubon Zoo's Vice President and General Curator Bob Lessnau. "Our veterinary and animal care teams are keeping a close eye to ensure both mother and calf are progressing. This is the first Baird's tapir born at Audubon Zoo, and we are very excited to share his development with the community."
Baird's tapirs occur in lowland forests of Central and South America and are considered an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Tapirs are often hunted for food and sport, but their greatest threat to survival is habitat destruction due to logging and the clearing of land for agriculture and development, according to the zoo.
Mother and calf are currently bonding behind-the-scenes at this time.
Read more on the birth, here.
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