Meet our friend the tapir who is featured for the letter T in the Fantastic Fauna Alphabet book! This sweet rare little baby was born in February 2025 at the Port Defiance Zoo in Washington state.

 Here are some FUN FACTS about TAPIRS!!

• They use their noses to grab branches and leaves.
• Their nose can be used like snorkel when swimming.
• They are herbivores.
• They have a great sense of smell and poor vision.
• They are very vocal with lots of different grunts and whistles.
• They live in the jungles of South and Central America, and Southeast Asia.
• They are related to horses and rhinos!
• Their lifespan is 25 to 30 years.
• They weigh 300-800 pounds.
• They can run 30 mph
• Gestation is around 13 months.
• Baby calves can stand and swim very quickly after birth.
• Babies are fully grown in 1.5 years.
• 3 of the species are endangered: Malayan, Mountain, and Baird’s. The Lowland is vulnerable.
• There are only around 2000 tapirs left on the planet. 🙁