Yahoo – AFP, April 22, 2016
Managua (AFP) - A baby tapir abandoned by its mother can thank female goats in Nicaragua's National Zoo for its survival, sucking at their teats for milk, the director said.
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| A tapir calf rejected and abandoned by its mother is fed from a goat, at the National Zoo in Managua, Nicaragua April 21, 2016 (AFP Photo/Inti Ocon) |
Managua (AFP) - A baby tapir abandoned by its mother can thank female goats in Nicaragua's National Zoo for its survival, sucking at their teats for milk, the director said.
"As
the mother didn't want it, we decided to give it a bottle with goat's milk, because
that doesn't give colic. And then we gave it the teat of a goat that had
recently given birth," Marina Arguello told AFP.
But the
tapir, Motita, proved too greedy for just one goat, and so others were pressed
into milk service, she said.
The zoo has
a breeding program for tapirs, which are herbivorous pig-like animals with
long, flexible snouts. They are native to Central and South America.
They can
grow to be two meters (six and half feet) long, weigh up to 300 kilograms (660
pounds) and live to 18 years.
The
abandoned baby tapir in the zoo got its name because in Nicaragua
"Motita" is a term used to refer to orphans.
The zoo's
director said it is impossible to force a tapir mother to give milk to its
young. "It's a question of character," she said.
Una cabra consiente amamantar a una bebé tapir en un zoológico de Nicaragua #AFP https://t.co/S9OpNPMYq3 pic.twitter.com/AegmwPA7V0— Agence France-Presse (@AFPespanol) April 22, 2016
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