It's been another busy World Tapir Day around the world - the tenth one!  The years since the first one in 2008 have raced by, but in this time it has grown from its humble beginnings to a worldwide celebration of tapirs.  It's grown so much that we struggle to keep up with everything that happened!

There have been a few really special highlights, including the first ever event in Peru . This is particularly special because it took place in a country that is home to two species of tapirs (the Mountain tapir and Lowland tapir), and whilst we feel that everybody should learn about tapirs, it's particularly important that people who live where tapirs are found in the wild learn as much as they can about them.  If they don't take an interest in tapirs (and the environment more broadly), there won't be a future for tapirs in the wild.  Sweden also saw its first ever WTD events!

Social media coverage was non-stop, and on Twitter #WorldTapirDay was the 4th-highest trending topic in Malaysia at one stage, and the 5th-highest in the United States!  The BBC's Discover Wildlife magazine ran a piece, amongst other mainstream media outlet coverage.

At the time of writing, event reports are still coming in, and some events are yet to happen.  This is what we know about so far - if we've missed anything, please let us know so we can add to this list.

Australia

• Melbourne Zoo

Austria

• Tierpark Schönbrunn

Belgium

• Antwerp Zoo

Belize

• Belize Zoo

Italy

• Parco Natura Viva

Japan

• Chiba Zoologival Park
• Chikozan Park Zoo
• Higashiyama Park
• Hirakawa Zoo
• Ikeda Zoo
• Ueno Zoo Gardens
• Urban Safari
• Yokohama Zoological Gardens

Peru

• Zoológico Huachipa

Sweden

• Kolmården Zoo
• Parken Zoo

United Kingdom

• Bristol Zoo Gardens
• Chester Zoo
• Cotswold Wildlife Park
• Drayton Manor
• Dudley Zoo
• Edinburgh Zoo
• Knowsley Safari
• Lakes Wildlife Park
• Lincolnshire Wildlife Park
• Newquay Zoo
• London Zoo
• Noah's Ark Zoo Farm
• Paignton Zoo
• Paradise Wildlife Park
• Port Lympne Wildlife Animal Park
• Reaseheath College
• Wingham Wildlife Park

United States

• Bergen County Zoo
• Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
• Columbus Zoo and Aquarium
• El Paso Zoo
• Hattiesburg Zoo
• Houston Zoo
• Los Angeles Zoo
• Lion Country Safari
• Miami Zoo
• Nashville Zoo
  

One of the reasons we are looking forward to WTD in 2017 (not that we don't every year!) is the release of Dwindle: a Tapir's Tale by Beholder, known to his friends as Dave Whiteland.

Dwindle: a Tapir's Tale tells the story of Dwindle, a Mountain tapir, and his interactions with a crow.  After a long night of (uninterrupted) sleep - and much to his surprise - Dwindle awakes to discover that he's in a "situation".  According to Beholder, Mountain tapirs are "undeniably the best kind of tapir. Actually the woolly mountain tapir is possibly the best kind of animal".  We wouldn't wish to argue about the latter point, and shall continue to debate the former (it's a hard decision to choose between the four species of tapir, we'll have you know).

To find out what Dwindle's situation is, and how he deals with learning about it, find out on the story's public release on World Tapir Day on 27 April, in only a few days' time.

Dwindle is a project on which Beholder has been working for some time, and it shows.  The beautiful artwork, witty dialogue between Dwindle and the crow, and the message conveyed through Dwindle's "situation" forms a fantastic story that we hope is read and shared widely. 
Beholder has been very generous in allowing us to have preliminary access to his story.   We love it, and are very much looking forward to its public release.