Why Tapirs Love Spending So Much Time Underwater

The endangered Malayan tapir calf is starting to explore the outdoors and learn how to swim in his safe and private pool behind-the-scenes with mom Yuna. 💦 Tapirs are naturally good swimmers and use their trunk like snouts as a snorkel when underwater. Stay tuned for updates on our little fuzzy WATERmelon. 🍉 | Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium

There's a new tapir in town... 👀 We’re so excited to welcome Fifi, a 20-year-old female lowland tapir! 💜 She’s settling beautifully into her brand-new tapir house and has already won over our keepers with her big personality. Experienced, confident, and a proud mum and even a grandma, she brings valuable breeding experience with her. Tapirs have long played an important role in our conservation journey, and Fifi’s arrival marks the next chapter in that story. As our current tapirs prepare to m

1.7M views · 649 shares | After escaping a conservation center, this tapir needed a lot of help from humans when it got trapped in a pond. | National Geographic | Facebook

Tapirs haven’t changed in over 20 million years and they’ve got the toes to prove it. Chiquita, our 23-year-old Brazilian Tapir, is part of an ancient lineage known as perissodactyls, odd-toed ungulates that include rhinos and horses. With a flexible, snorkel-like trunk and a diet that helps regrow rainforests, tapirs are vital to their ecosystems. But habitat loss is putting them at risk. Brazilian Tapirs are now listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. In our new video, Keeper Elise shares C