The zoo will mark the special occasion on Saturday, April 23, in conjunction with its World Tapir Day celebrations, which spreads the message of conservation of the endangered species.

Fundraising on the day will be donated to the World Land Trust in Ecuador to assist with international tapir conservation projects. 

Out of the five tapir species worldwide, all of them are listed as endangered or vulnerable in the wild.

There are four tapirs in Australia – Berani being the only male (his daughter lives in Melbourne and two other females in Adelaide).

Berani was imported to Australia when he was 13 months old and lived at Taronga Zoo in Sydney until August last year, when he moved to the Hunter Valley.

He will live out his retirement in a 400-square-metre, purpose-built enclosure there.

Berani weighs between 300 and 400 kilograms – a guessing competition will be held on the day for people to guess his exact weight, and the winners will get the chance to meet him up close.

Other activities throughout the day will include keeper talks, a sausage sizzle, face painting and of course, presenting Berani with his birthday cake.

“Berani is almost completely blind, so we will have to make sure his cake smells extra tasty so he can find it,” zookeeper Amanda Chisholm said.

The zoo is open fro 9am to 4pm. Call 4990 7714 for more information.