Endangered Baird’s Tapir Calf, as Yet Unnamed, Born at San Diego Zoo

The San Diego Zoo has announced that female Baird’s tapir Luna gave birth to a female calf in early June — and the baby needs a name.

The prehensile-nosed calf and her mother can now be seen sharing a space with the capybaras at the Elephant Odyssey exhibit.

The zoo is asking the public to vote on a name for the calf; the four choices are Hayetzi (a Mayan word for “moon droplet”), Ixchel (the Mayan goddess of the moon), Melancia (the Portuguese word for “watermelon”), and Soona (an Otomí name that means “moon”). Voting concludes July 2nd at 12 p.m. Pacific time.

Tapirs have long pregnancies, 13 or 14 months, and generally just one baby at a time. According to the zoo, Mother Luna bonds with her calf by vocalizing, grooming, nursing her, and keeping a close eye on her at all times. The calf is starting to frolic and play with food and leaves.

Tapir calves are born with fawn-like patterns that provide camouflage in the wild. As they age, their coats change to a dark reddish-brown to black color with white accents on their chest, chin, and ears.

The Baird’s tapir is native to Mexico and Central American countries. Tapirs are an ancient species that play a significant role in maintaining the biological diversity of tropical forests by dispersing seeds and helping fertilize the forest floor. That promotes the growth of new plants and provides food and shelter for a variety of other species.

Despite surviving several previous waves of extinction, tapirs now face many challenges in the wild, such as being hunted for sport and habitat loss due to farming, cattle grazing, and palm oil and rubber plantations, which reduces their food supply.

However, there are now efforts to protect their habitats and promote tapirs to encourage tourism.