KUALA LUMPUR: The tapir born in captivity in Japan is a product of the Malayan Tapir Conservation Programme between Malaysia and Japan.
The programme was signed on Oct 13, 2015, at the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in Putrajaya.
Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said the baby tapir, a male, born on March 14 at the Nagasaki Biopark weighed 11kg at birth.
It was born to Malayan tapirs Im and Bertam which were sent to Japan on Dec 4, 2015, under the programme for a period of 10 years from 2015, he said in a statement.
According to the programme, the pair of tapir and any of their offspring belong to the Malaysian government.
The Nagasaki Biopark is required to send an annual report to the Malaysian government on the care and condition of the tapirs.
Wan Junaidi said the conservation programme was monitored by the Department of Wildlife Protection and National Parks Malaysia.
The Malayan Tapir is the biggest among the four species of tapir in the world and the only one in black and white.
The threatened wildlife is estimated to number between 1,000 and 1,500 in the wild in peninsular Malaysia. --Bernama