Malayan tapir debuts at Liaoning’s Dalian Forest Zoo

A Malayan tapir made its first public appearance in Northeast China on Wednesday at the newly opened tapir pavilion of Dalian Forest Zoo in Dalian, Liaoning province.

The male tapir is in and has a stocky, robust build and striking black-and-white coat. Its head, tail, and limbs are jet black, while its midsection is bright white. With a flexible, extendable nose, the animal is highly distinctive and immediately recognizable to visitors.

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As the first dedicated tapir facility in Northeast China, the pavilion was designed and built with a philosophy of prioritizing animal welfare and minimizing ecological intervention, according to the zoo.

The complex includes multiple temperature-controlled indoor enclosures, each exceeding 50 square meters, as well as three outdoor exercise yards. With nearly 1,000 square meters of open-air recreational space and indoor-outdoor connectivity, the habitat is engineered to replicate the animals" natural living conditions as closely as possible.

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The zoo revealed plans to introduce a Baird"s tapir and lowland tapir, with the goal of establishing the most comprehensive tapir collection and the highest-standard conservation facility in Northeast China.

Dalian Forest Zoo, which ranks among the country"s top zoological parks in terms of animal collection, area, and visitor numbers, currently houses over 200 species and more than 2,000 animals, and receives an average of over 1.7 million domestic and international tourists annually. Covering an area of 1.8 square kilometers, the facility is divided into a captive-breeding area and an open-range area.

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