VIDEO: Rare Malayan tapir born at Edinburgh Zoo given new name after public vote

The name of a baby Malayan tapir born at Edinburgh Zoo has been unveiled following a public vote.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Feb 2019, 11:54 BST
Updated 13th Feb 2019, 13:21 BST

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Last week, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland released the first pictures of the rare Malayan tapir.

The male calf was born to mother Sayang and father Mowgli on January 31st.

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An online poll was set up to help decide the name for the zoo’s new arrival, and voting closed on Tuesday.

And the public have chosen ‘Megat’ as the name.

A tweet posted today by Edinburgh Zoo said: “Introducing Megat!

“We were blown away by the response to our public vote to name our newborn Malayan tapir. With almost 9,000 people getting involved, including tremendous interest from the species native Malaysia, Magat stormed to victory with an impressive 4,263 votes!”

Megat is the eighth tapir calf to arrive at the zoo since 2007.

A rare Malayan tapir that has been born at Edinburgh Zoo. Picture: RZSSA rare Malayan tapir that has been born at Edinburgh Zoo. Picture: RZSS
A rare Malayan tapir that has been born at Edinburgh Zoo. Picture: RZSS

Malayan tapirs are considered an endangered species with a European conservation breeding programme helping protect them from extinction.

The brown and white fur helps provide camouflage for baby tapirs in their natural rainforest habitats, developing to black and white after a few months.

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