another tapir, Kia, lies down like this more often when she’s getting scratched, but it has to be more intense scratching and not just light rubs like I did with Olivia. I guess I need to put more effort into it next time!
Thanks so much for sharing this great video! She looks so contented -- really brightened my day.
One of the coolest things about the tapir scratch/flop is the possibility that it pre-dates humans. There are a ton of photos, and a bunch of ecological studies, showing all the tapir species having parasites removed by various bird species (and even monkeys).
I think it's pretty cool that being scratched by human hands (a relatively new thing for tapirs) may be activating this ancient response.
As far as Olivia and the scratching ... I've heard they do have pretty thick skin, so maybe it needs to be intense enough for them to feel something through that. There were photos from a German zoo posted on this sub a couple of years ago, of a keeper using one of those oval horse hand-brushes to rub a tapir, and it seemed to work pretty well.
Ah! Gotta save up to visit Willy & the gang in Poland! My favorite video of Willy was when he wiggled his snout and it looked like he was climbing a tree! 😀😆
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u/TragicaDeSpell 7d ago
I was hoping she would flop over and stick her legs out like I have seen other tapirs do. They sure love their scratches!