It’s undeniable that baby tapirs are just about the cutest animals on planet Earth, as their speckled fur and propensity to curl into balls have earned them the nickname watermelon babies.

If all goes well, there will be a brand new watermelon baby tapir at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo—a first for Canadian zoos.

The zoo announced on Jan. 22, that four-year-old Sempurna is expecting after mating with 23-year-old sire Tanuck in 2024.

The May-September romance was a result of the comprehensive species survival plan in place across North America to protect the endangered Malaysian tapir species.

“We work with other accredited facilities, and they do specific breeding recommendations based on genetics to make sure we have as much genetic diversity as possible within the whole population,” said Jennifer Godwin, an Animal Care Manager for Savannah and Asia at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.

“She came here in March [after] we did get a recommendation from the species survival plan to breed with our older male Tanuck, and it seems like it was love at first sight, because very shortly after they were breeding.”

That plan provides specific breeding recommendations between animals at different zoos based on genetics, to ensure as much genetic diversity as possible, she said.

The difference in age between the pair, said Godwin, was also more common and natural of Malaysian tapirs in the wild than perhaps in humans.

Another difference is how long the gestation period lasts—in humans, approximately nine months, but in tapirs, it can last between 13 and 14 months.

Tapir species are critically endangered in the wild

So far, the pair have been getting along like lost soul mates.

“[Tanuck] very, very patient. He does actually play with her quite a bit, or run around with her. So, he’s very patient,” said Godwin.

“She is getting a little bit more irritable toward Tanuck, so she might bug them a little bit more and chase him around. They do play, but it can get a little bit more intense from her right now. We do give them a break and let them separate, and we will be separating them more as the pregnancy progresses, just to simulate wild behaviour.”

Malaysian tapirs are native to the Malay Peninsula, and in the wild tend to be more solitary creatures, who rely on their unique black and white fur patterns to look like the natural terrain of the lowland rainforests of the region.

Fewer than 2,500 of the species remains in the wild, largely due to the impact of human led deforestation rather than through natural predation, as the Malaysian tapir has few natural predators.

At the zoo, Sempurna will be receiving excellent care ahead of the mid-July to mid-August period when she is expected to give birth, Godwin said.

“Zoo staff are extremely excited. We’ve been working on ultrasound training and blood draw training, and getting her used to tactile. Seeing that little heartbeat the other day on the ultrasound was super exciting for us,” she said.

“We monitor as needed, so we are pretty confident that she’s doing her thing. We’ve confirmed that she is pregnant, and it is a heartbeat going strong. We did take blood, and we can test a few things for that, but we don’t want to bug her too much if it’s not needed.”

Visitors to the Exploration Asia will likely see a little more of that “sass” from Sempurna as she enters into the second half of her pregnancy. Other signs that will be obvious to visitors, will be the physical changes to Sempurna’s body—now visibly pregnant.