Carrot cake treat as Dudley Zoo staff mark tapir Luna’s first birthday

Keeper Josh Luxton combined all of her favourite fruits, veg and pellets to create the special treat and then broadcast a video on Facebook. He said: “We’re so excited about Luna’s first birthday and wanted to share it with as many people as we could.

“I watched Luna moving around in her mum’s tummy before she was born and when she arrived we were all so thrilled, we couldn’t wait to tell everyone the exciting news. Now she’s one we are continuing our celebrations in style.”

Luna was born on May 28 last year to dad Chico and mum Meena, who has had five other babies, after a 13-month pregnancy.

Luna spent the last few days tucked away in off-show dens and he zoo captured the moment Meena brought her baby out in the paddock for the first time in a Facebook Live video, which hundreds of people tuned in to watch.

To mark her first birthday Luna’s carrot-topped cake was also delivered her live on Facebook.

Endangered

Baby tapirs, which are endangered in the wild, are born with a distinctive spotty and striped camouflage pattern, which fades after around six months.

The stripes help them camouflage themselves from predators against the rainforest foliage. All tapirs have oval, white-tipped ears, rounded, protruding rumps with stubby tails, and splayed, hoofed toes, with four toes on the front feet and three on the hind feet.

This all helps them to walk on muddy and soft ground.

In the wild, a stiff, bristly mane provides protection against the bite of the jaguar, the tapir’s main predator.

They are herbivores, using their mobile snouts to feed on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches that they tear from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants.

Tapirs are solitary animals with the males and females only interacting during the breeding season.