‘Tiquie’ our Brazilian Tapir, the usually timid creatures of South American rainforests has stolen our hearts with her endearing and affectionate personality. Although this species are normally solitary and quite elusive in the wild, Tiquie seems to revel in our attention which means we can perform daily hands on health checks and grooming sessions. This allows us to monitor her well being without causing any stress to her what so ever. Each day because of her relaxed nature we are able to thoroughly check her feet, ears, eyes, complete a full body fitness assessment and brush her dark brown wiry mane. Once all of this is completed she likes nothing more than a chin and thigh scratch, she is a real sweetheart and loves the interaction. Just like us, Tiquie hates flys! To help her out during the summer months we also spray her with fly repellent to keep those annoying bugs at bay. Tiquie is no featherweight. She tips the scales over 250 kilograms, so having such a close bond and relationship with her helps us maintain her general health and well being – and to be honest we love being able to get so close to her, especially when we know she adores it so much. Apart from her daily grooming sessions, Tiquie enjoys taking a dip in the river system of her exhibit and has a very healthy diet including sweet potato, broccoli, apples, carrots, hay and her favourite tasty treats, pears and bananas. Brazilian tapirs are herbivores and use their trunk like snout to feed on leaves, small branches, fruits and aquatic plants. At the Zoo we also have a Malayan Tapir. Amazingly tapirs can truly be called ‘living fossils because as a group they have changed little over the past 35 million years!  Meet 'Tiquie' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_zzEFAR4a8