The Taipei Zoo is hoping a female Malayan tapir that recently arrived in Taipei on loan from the Singapore Zoo will mate with its male tapir and take a small step toward securing the endangered animal's survival, it said in a statement on Monday.

The 8 1/2-year-old Malayan tapir, called Putri, arrived in Taipei on Oct. 27 to mate with Mosu (??), a tapir cared for at the Taipei Zoo aged 7 1/2 years, the Taipei Zoo said.

Putri will be quarantined for 30 days and then taken to the zoo's Conservation and Research Center. Once the animal gets comfortable with its surroundings and the zookeepers, it will be introduced to Mosu, with the hope that the two will hit it off and mate.

The veterinarian who has followed the female tapir since it got off the plane in Taiwan said Putri is very docile and approachable, acting in a friendly manner with zookeepers from the first time they came in contact.

The transfer of the tapir was made possible under the European Endangered Species Programme, which was founded in 1985 to issue zoos with mandatory breeding recommendations in order to keep genetic diversity as high as possible and avoid inbreeding.

The Malayan tapir, also called the Asian tapir and Asiatic tapir and the only one native to Asia, Africa and Europe, is the largest of the four widely recognized species of tapir.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel