Daytime behavior of captive Malayan tapirs at Songkhla Zoo

Abstract

The endangered Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) has experienced a precipitous decline in population size recently, and may go extinct without effective conservation planning. However, a paucity of studies on tapir ecology and behavior hinders potential conservation efforts and management of populations. Our goal was to investigate daytime behavior of captive Malayan tapirs. We observed and recorded daytime behavior for six individuals (three males, two females, and one juvenile male) at Songkhla Zoo from May to June 2017. We found that Malayan tapirs spent most of their daytime in resting (>70%), including laying down, sitting, and sleeping. The rest of the day, tapirs allocate time between eating, bathing, and moving. Both social behaviors (<1%) and excretory behaviors (<1%) were rarely observed. Sexual behaviors were more common in male tapirs (0.83%) than female tapirs (0.28%). The juvenile tapir spent more time eating than adult tapirs. The female tapir with her juvenile spent more time moving and exhibited more social behavior than female tapir without offspring. This study provides better understanding of the daily activity and behaviors of tapirs in captivity with inference to their natural habits, and highlights the importance of proper zoo management in order to improve health and reproductive success for tapirs in captivity. This preliminary study of tapir behavior could potentially assist conservation planning in the future.