Moving April the tapir from the original Belize Zoo, 1991
These photos were taken Nov 14, 1991 when we moved April the tapir from the original Belize Zoo at Richard and Carol Farneti Foster's place to the new Belize Zoo. I lived and worked with them at the time, so got to know April very well. The first photo is me saying goodbye to her, just minutes before we coaxed her into a large box. She had been getting her food for several weeks in the box, so she wasn't scared of it. In fact she made little happy sounds as about 8 of us lifted the box onto the trailer shown in the second photo. The third photo is April seeing her new large pond and enclosure at the new Zoo for the first time. Thanks to Carol for the photo of me and April--one of my all time favorites.
Tapir - Ts'iimin K'áax
The Tapir is the nation animal of Belize and in Yucatec Maya it is known as Ts'iimin or Ts'iimin K'áax. They feed on grasses, aquatic vegetation, leaves and fruits. They are excellent swimmers spending a fair amount of the time in the forest. Tapirs are usually solitary except when mothers have young.
Photographs by Carol Farneti Foster, story by Logan McNatt
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