Maddie the spaniel has probably had enough swimming for the week. It’s not known exactly for how long she’d been doggy paddling out in the Penobscot Bay before a passing lobsterman happened to spot her near North Haven, Maine.
She had been enjoying the day out on a boat but had fallen overboard without her owner noticing. Luckily the swimming dog caught the eye of Corey Beverage, who pulled her on board his lobster boat saving her life. Marine patrol was able to find the owner and return Maddie to him.
The Chester Zoo welcomed the arrival of Solo, a male Malayan tapir, this week. Solo is doing great and so is his mother Margery. It was a thirteen month pregnancy and this is Margery’s first calf. It’s also the first Malayan tapir born at the Chester Zoo.
The Malayan tapir is native to the rainforests of Southeast Asia. Born with brown hair with white spots and stripes, he will turn black with a large saddle-shaped white patch from its shoulders to its rear end after four to seven months.
Most active at night, the Malayan tapir feeds on the leaves along forest trails and spends much of its time swimming or near water. Of the five tapir species,the Malayan is the largest, growing to 550 to 700 pounds. It is also the only species living in Asia, with all other tapirs native to South or Central America.
Tapirs are related to horses and have three toes on their hind feet and four on their front feet, helping them walk through soft muddy forest ground. They’re easy to recognize by their long snouts, helpful for getting to hard-to-reach foliage. The Malayan tapir has the longest snout of the tapir species. Because they have very poor eyesight, Malayan tapirs use their excellent senses of hearing and smell to survive. They are known to live up to 30 years.
Despite having few natural predators due to its size and deceptive speed, the number of Malayan tapirs has been diminished in recent years due to deforestation and hunting and the species is currently considered endangered.
Solo’s healthy birth is great news. The Chester Zoo is part of a European endangered species breeding program helping to make sure animals like the Malayan tapir don’t go extinct.
You can see Solo and his mom Margery in the video below.
