Tapir calf born at Reid Park Zoo

At least that’s the description of the Reid Park Zoo’s first newborn of 2014, a male Baird’s tapir, born Jan. 4.

The calf is the first born to the zoo’s female adult tapir Contessa, who was not nursing and displayed aggression toward him, causing the calf to be separated from its mother and hand-raised by zookeepers.

“Hand-rearing a baby at Reid Park Zoo is extremely rare,” Jim Schnormeier, the zoo’s curator, said in a press release. “It is always preferable to leave offspring with the mother, and generally she would do a much better job than we could at providing nutrition and encouraging natural behavior.”

The Baird’s tapir is an endangered species native to Mexico and Central America and resembles an anteater because of its snout.

Contessa was brought to Tucson from a New Jersey zoo in 2011 to breed with the zoo’s male tapir, Tupi, as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan.

The calf’s arrival is a “significant birth for the captive population,” the release said.

It’s unknown when the calf will be on exhibit.

“Because he has been rejected by his mother, it will change everything normal about how he is exhibited,” zoo spokeswoman Vivian VanPeenen said via email. “His growth and strength, as well as mom’s behavior, will determine next steps.”