Woodland Park Zoo Blog

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren Ulan, with her calf Sempurna, in 2020. At the end of the month, Woodland Park Zoo will say goodbye to its last remaining Malayan tapir, Ulan. The 12-year-old female will head to Fresno Chaffee Zoo, an AZA (Association of Zoos and Aquariums) accredited zoo in Fresno, California. The last day to show Ulan some love will be August 27 in the Trail of Vines habitat. Tapirs are among the most primitive large mammals in the world, changing little in appearance for millions of years. These prehistoric-looking animals are long and similar to the weight of a light horse. They have a short, prehensile nose which they use to pluck leaves and fruit. Tapirs are excellent swimmers and use their snouts as snorkels! Because they have an odd number of toes (four toes on each front foot, three on each back foot), their closest relatives are horses and rhinos. Ulan and her daughter, Sempurna, sit side by side in 2020. Ulan arrived at Wo...

Posted by Gigi Allianic, Communications Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo The #SeattleWatermelon has arrived. On June 10 at approximately 9:30 p.m., our Malayan tapir Ulan, gave birth to her first baby, a girl. We are in love. The gestation period for tapirs is approximately 13 months, and for Ulan, her birth window was between April and June, since we weren't exactly sure when she conceived. The average weight for calves at birth is 22 pounds, and Ulan's baby is 18 pounds. Calves are born with their eyes open and can stand within one or two hours after birth—and as you can see from these photos—baby tapirs hit their adorable watermelon benchmark right away! The newborn calf gets a quick neonatal exam by the animal health team before being reunited with mom. “These ‘watermelons on four legs’ are irresistible,” says Kevin Murphy, animal curator. “It will be curiously fun to watch her explore the public habitat, which we did our best to tapi...