April the tapir, she may not be as sleek and mysterious as the black jaguar, or as predatory as the harpy eagle, but April has what they don’t, she’s got star power. And every year, in this fourth month, April let’s the other critters, creatures and contenders in the zoo know that she’s the star attraction. In my years in the media, I’ve seen her go from fledgling calf to full grown cow – and now, in the autumn of her years, I found that old girl April still knows how to pull a crowd. Here’s how she did it at her 26th birthday party.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
The national animal of Belize is the tapir but just how many of these mountain cows can be found in the country remains unknown and quite possibly if it was not as a result of an annual celebration of one of its own many of us would not know much about its existence. Today however as April celebrated her twenty sixth birthday, there are serious concerns for her species roaming the animal’s entire home range.

Celso Poot, Education Director - Belize Zoo
“Estimates are showing that there are less than 5,000 tapirs remaining in the wild and this is from Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. The main reason for this is deforestation and hunting. Belize has one of the highest deforestation rate in Central America. Hence the reason why we need to continue the awareness of tapirs and wildlife in general.”

Unlike her species in the wild, April for the passed two decades has been receiving very good care from her friends at the Belize Zoo and that is why she is expected to live in captivity beyond thirty years, the life expectancy of a tapir in captivity.

Celso Poot,
“Well April is in very good health. She is plump, doing well. She continues to enjoy her birthday cakes, as well as the care and attention that the zookeepers give to her. She is the Ambassador for Belize.”

And that is why this wildlife ambassador of Belize is one of the animals visited the most at the Belize Zoo. Each year school children from the surrounding area are invited to April’s party like Hector Martinez who also shares a birthday in the month of April. Five days ago he turned twelve years old and today he was especially invited to give April her biggest treat of the day.

Jacqueline Godwin,
What was it like giving April her birthday cake?

Hector Martinez, 12 years old
“Fun.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Were you scared?

Hector Martinez,
“No.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
Is this the first time you are seeing April or have you been here before?

Hector Martinez,
“I’ve been here like three times.”

Celso Poot,
“But we have a lot more years to celebrate April’s birthdays. It is really important that the kids from a younger age get exposed to wildlife so that they can appreciate it and understand the role they play in the country’s ecology.”

And while it is expected that April will continue to raise the awareness about her species there are plans to conduct a scientific research to determine just how many tapirs can be found in Belize.