Entertainment

Rare baby tapir born at Chester Zoo named following public poll

More than 30,000 animal lovers had their say.
More than 30,000 animal lovers had their say.

A rare Malayan tapir born at Chester Zoo has been named following a public vote.

The calf, born on July 18 and unveiled by the zoo earlier this week, has been given the name Rony.

Baby Malayan tapir has been named…📣 The results are in 📣More than 30,000 of YOU voted to name this adorable little fella.Everyone meet… Rony! 😍Posted by Chester Zoo on Wednesday, July 24, 2019

More than 30,000 people voted in the poll which asked animal lovers to choose between the names Rony and Thom, with around two thirds plumping for the former.

Rony was born to parents Margery, aged seven, and Betong, aged six, becoming the second Malayan tapir ever born at the zoo.

Rony the baby tapir at Chester Zoo
More than 30,000 animal lovers had their say in the poll to name the young tapir (Chester Zoo)

Team manager Sarah Roffe said at the time: “The precious calf is another big boost for the international breeding programme, which is working to ensure the already endangered species do not become extinct.

“In the wild, the Malayan tapir population has crashed in recent times, largely due to the wide-spread conversion of their forest habitat to palm oil plantations.”

Only 2,500 tapirs are estimated to remain in the wild across Malaysia, Sumatra, Thailand and Burma with half the global population lost over the last 40 years.