‘Fuzzy watermelon'-looking endangered baby animal named after another fruit, WA zoo says
A rare and endangered baby animal that looks like a 'fuzzy watermelon' has a new name, and it's also a fruit, a Washington zoo said.
The white striped and speckled Malayan tapir calf was named Ume, the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma said in a Feb. 11 Facebook post.
In Japanese, Ume means plum blossom and apricot, the zoo said.
The 20-pound baby girl was born Feb. 2, making her the second tapir to be born at the zoo in its 120-year history, McClatchy News reported.
'Mom and baby are thriving behind the scenes, and we can't wait to share more updates soon,' the zoo said in the post.
Her mom is Yuna, and she's 10 years old and weighs nearly 900 pounds, zoo officials said. Her dad is Baku, and he's also 10 and weighs 800 pounds.
Yuna means kindness and superiority in Japanese, while Baku references a dream-eating creature.
The Malayan tapir is the largest of the four tapir species, according to the Tapir Specialist Group.
This species is found in Asia in southern Myanmar and southern Thailand.
Tapirs are herbivores and have long and flexible noses for snagging leaves and fruit, the zoo said.
When they are babies, they are born with white stripes and dots to blend in with their environment.
The 'mostly nocturnal' animal typically lives alone but may live in a pair.
Zoo officials said the tapir is endangered due to disappearing forests, farms, logging and being hunted by humans.
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Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 6 killed
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Israel and the United States say the new system is designed to circumvent Hamas, but it has been rejected by the U.N. and major aid groups. Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel's blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli- and U.S.-supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents 'a great danger.' It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the 'chaos of the crowds,' according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Shots fired from the 'dangerous zone' Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the 'dangerous zone' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. 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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that even then, Israel will maintain open-ended control over Gaza and facilitate what he refers to as the voluntary emigration of much of its population to other countries, a plan rejected by most of the international community, including the Palestinians, who view it as a blueprint for their forcible expulsion. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. ___ Follow AP's war coverage at


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Palestinians say Israel and its allies fired on crowd near Gaza aid site. Hospital says 6 killed
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Experts have meanwhile warned that Israel's blockade and its ongoing military campaign have put Gaza at risk of famine. Palestinians say Israeli forces have repeatedly fired toward crowds heading to the food centers since they opened last month. In previous instances, the Israeli military has said it fired warning shots at people who approached its forces near the centers, which are in military zones off limits to independent media. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Israeli- and U.S.-supported private contractor running the sites, says there has been no violence in or around the centers themselves. But GHF repeatedly warns would-be food recipients that stepping off the road designated by the military for people to reach the centers represents 'a great danger.' It paused delivery at its three distribution sites last week to hold discussions with the military about improving safety on the routes. GHF closed the Rafah site on Monday due to the 'chaos of the crowds,' according to a Facebook site associated with the group. A GHF spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Heba Joda, who was in the crowd Monday, said gunfire broke out at a roundabout where previous shootings have occurred, around a kilometer (half a mile) from the aid site. She said the shots came from the 'dangerous zone' where Israeli troops and their allies are stationed. She said she saw men from a local militia led by Yasser Abu Shabab trying to organize the crowds into lines on the road. When people pushed forward, the gunmen opened fire. People then hurled stones at them, forcing them to withdraw toward the Israeli positions, she said. The Abu Shabab group, which calls itself the Popular Forces, says it is guarding the surroundings of the GHF centers in southern Gaza. Aid workers say it has a long history of looting U.N. aid trucks. 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'Urban greening strategy' to phase out weed killer
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