14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this month, on January 4, a female Baird's tapir living in captivity at the Reid Park Zoo in Tucson, Arizona delivered a healthy offspring.
Despite being allowed to bond with its baby, Contessa did not approve of the calf's presence in its enclosure, and refused to feed it regularly. Besides, the tapir mom started acting aggressively towards it.
Zoo employees decided that it might be best to separate the two, and moved the baby tapir to a separate enclosure. They are now taking turns feeding it and monitoring its development.
Although it is no longer with its mom, the calf continues to be healthy and active, and its caretakers are optimistic about its future.
As shown in the picture above, they even gifted it with a plush lion to keep it company.
According to Zoo Borns, it seldom happens that staff at the Reid Park Zoo take it upon themselves to raise a baby born at this facility.
However, given the fact that this calf is expected to enter a breeding program once it becomes an adult, they decided to make an exception in its case.