Everything sucks, but then there's this adorable, rare newborn Malayan tapir
Sure, you may not be quite familiar with the tapir.
Not that it should stop you from enjoying these pictures of a very cute but endangered Malayan tapir (pronounced "tay-purr") calf, which was born at the Minnesota Zoo back in January, but made its public debut on Feb. 6.
Yet to be unnamed, the female calf was born to mother Bertie after a 400 day gestation period, and is the zoo's third tapir birth in six years.
The zoo will hold a contest to decide its name, with the winner to be announced on Feb. 16.
The tapir, unfortunately, is also relatively rare. There are only 37 tapirs in North American zoos, and about 2,500 mature individuals remaining in the wild, according to the IUCN.
"We are very excited to finally introduce the public to our newest tapir calf," zoo curator Tom Ness said in a statement.
"It has been fun to watch her and mom bond behind the scenes this past month. She definitely has her own personality and it will be interesting to see all of the name suggestions from our guests."
You'll find the tapir in Southeast Asia, where the species is battling declining numbers due to habitat loss, hunting, and bi-catches.
Minnesota Zoo's newest tapir will only be viewable to the public for very short periods of time in the morning as it gets used to its new habitat.
Topics Animals
