Tapir | Facts & Information

# Tapir | Facts & Information

Tapir | Discover Fascinating Facts and Information About Tapir

This animal called Tapir (Tapirus americanus and indicus) is a mammal similar to the wild pig, which belongs to the family Tapiridae. It lives in the tropical forests of Central and South America and southern Asia. There are four species of Tapir, three of which are native to the tropical forests of the Americas, and the other is native to the tropical forests of Asia.

Area: America and Asia

Habitat: tropical forests

Food: Herbivore

Size: 100-150cm

Weight: 150-300kg

Speed: 48km / h (30mph)

Colors: white, black, brown, gray

Breeding: 1 Chick

Predators: wild cat, crocodile

Live: solitary

Average age: 20 – 25 years

Features: long and flexible nose

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Tapir

Tapir

The Tapir is one of the most fascinating and enigmatic wild animals. With its distinctive appearance and unusual behavior, this captivating mammal has always captured the imagination of humans. With a long history and remarkable adaptation to their environment, tapirs are important for the ecosystems in which they live. In this article, we will explore several interesting aspects about these fascinating animals.

The tapir, scientifically known as Tapirus, belongs to the Tapiridae family and is related to horses and rhinos. There are four different species of tapirs: the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, the mountain tapir, and the Baird's tapir. All these species have common characteristics such as a robust and rounded body, short and powerful legs, and a distinctively long and flexible snout.

A remarkable aspect of tapirs is their coat. These mammals have a thick, coarse, and dark-colored fur that opens up into a unique pattern, composed of white or pale stripes on their bodies. This color and pattern of their fur provide effective camouflage in their environment, allowing them to easily blend in with the surrounding landscape.

Tapirs also have a unique bone structure in their skull, known as the sagittal crest. This feature is responsible for their distinctive appearance and important functions such as resistance during territorial fights. The sagittal crest also serves as an insertion point for the muscles of the jaw, thus facilitating the force required for feeding for these frugivorous animals.

Tapirs have impressive size and weight. The Brazilian tapir, for example, can reach a height of up to 1.2 meters and weigh 300 kilograms. However, larger species such as Baird's tapir can reach a height of up to 1.8 meters and weigh over 500 kilograms. These impressive dimensions enable these animals to easily traverse their environment, feed on plants from the ground, or swim in deep waters.

Tapirs have interesting social behavior. These mammals are primarily solitary but can form small groups, especially during the breeding season or when feeding. The Brazilian tapir, for example, gathers in groups of up to six individuals, which travel together through forested areas in search of food. This social behavior allows them to increase their chances of survival and also facilitates the transmission of knowledge and experiences from one individual to another.

Tapirs' diet consists mainly of plants. These mammals are known for their varied diet, which includes fruits, leaves, shoots, and buds. Tapirs also play an important role in seed dispersal of the plants they consume. By passing the seeds through their digestive system and excreting them elsewhere, tapirs assist in the spread of plants in their environment.

Tapirs are also highly adaptable animals. These mammals can live in diverse habitats, such as wet tropical forests, savannas, and mountains. This remarkable adaptability allows them to withstand and adapt to changes in their surrounding environment. However, tapirs are threatened by habitat loss, illegal hunting, and climate change, leading to a reduction in their populations.

In conclusion, the tapir is a fascinating and important animal for the ecosystems in which it lives. With its unique characteristics, adaptability, and social behavior, the tapir continues to attract the interest of researchers and animal observers. Understanding and protecting these wonderful mammals are becoming increasingly important in the context of biodiversity conservation and the preservation of natural ecosystems.

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Facts

Origin

Tapir is related to rhinos and horses. Tapir males are called bulls, females are called cows, and Cubs are calves. The four species of tapir are: the Brazilian tapir (Tapirus terrestris), which is found in South America; the Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), which lives in the Belize Islands; the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), which lives in the Andes Mountains, and the Malaysian or Asian tapir (Tapirus indicus), which lives in Southeast Asia.

Tapirs have lived on Earth since prehistory, but since then they have to survive in harsh conditions, being hunted by humans, but also by other larger or stronger carnivores. Only a few Indian tribes (especially in South America) refuse to kill tapirs because they consider them holy animals.

Tapirs species are divided into four large breeds, classified by the areas in which they live, but also by certain characteristics. Thus, there is the plain tapir (tapirus terrestris), also called brazilian or South american, which lives in the tropical forests of South America, the one that appears in many of the Indian myths and legends.

Its relative living at Higher Heights was called the mountain tapir (tapirus pinchaque), found on the high plateaus of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Both breeds suffer from deforestation in the mentioned areas.

Also in South America lives the tapir baird (tapirus bairdii), especially in southern Mexico and in a few small areas of Colombia. It is the second largest of its species, after the Indian tapir, but also the largest land mammal in Mexico.

And the" giant " of the family, the Indian tapir (tapirus indicus) or Asian populates Southeast Asia and represents the breed that has endured best-enough years – in the conditions of reserves and even in zoological parks.

Tapir Food

Tapirs are herbivorous and feed on water plants, fruits and buds, sometimes twigs and leaves. A Tapir can consume up to 40 kilograms of vegetation in a day. They are quite cautious animals, usually even skittish, rarely entering into conflict with other species.

In fact, they prefer to hide during the day and look for food after sunset, when it is not very risky to be seen by predators. In the dark, tapirs look for areas covered with grass or on which shrubs and bushes grow, from which they feast on saturated.

They eat leaves, buds, seeds, and fruits – almost anything that the vegetation in their territory provides, and even algae-like aquatic plants. These water delicacies can be reached because they are also very good swimmers, frolicking in the mud being one of their favorite "pastimes".

Tapir Appearance

These animals measure between 1.8 and 2.5 meters in length, depending on the species, the largest being the Malayan tapir and the smallest mountain tapir. Their weight ranges from 180 to 320 kilograms. Their fur has short hair and is reddish-brown or black in color.

They have robust bodies with short legs, a prominent bottom and a short tail. Their hooves are deformed and they have four toes on their front paws and 3 toes on their back paws, which help them walk on soft and muddy ground.

Their sensitive ears are round and white tipped, and their eyes are small, brown with a bluish tinge that gives them poorer visibility. But a well-developed sense of smell helps compensate for that weakness. Tapirs have an elongated and flexible rat, which they use to reach branches and the like, which they would not normally be able to reach.

Tapir Behavior

Tapirs are nocturnal animals, except for the mountain tapir which is more active during the day. They spend most of the day underwater, using their rat to breathe the surface air.

Despite their size, tapirs are very agile swimmers, they can also dive into the water and walk on the bottom just like rhinos. When immersed in water, they let small fish cleanse them of parasites on their skin. Tapirs also wallow in mud to cool off and get rid of insects on them. Tapirs are also very agile climbers.

These animals are solitary and spend most of their lives alone, with the exception of females with their young. Due to their solitary lifestyle, tapirs can become very aggressive with each other if they meet by chance.

To avoid these surprise encounters, tapirs mark their territory with urine and alert each other to their presence, making sharp sounds and whistles. Tapirs have very few natural predators because they are large animals, and their very thick skin makes it difficult for them to be grabbed by a predator's fangs.

Most of the threats come from tigers, jaguars, anaconda snakes and crocodiles. In front of a predator, a Tapir defends itself with powerful jaws and sharp teeth.

Tapir Breeding

Tapirs mate all year round, but especially in the rainy season. Puppies are born just before the rainy season begins the following year. Mating is done either in water or on land. The male mates with the female several times during her ovulation period.

After a gestation period of 13 months, the female gives birth to a single cub. A female Tapir can make cubs once every two years. Chickens, such as Brazilian tapir chicks, often have reddish-brown fur with white stripes and spots.

This pattern of fur helps them camouflage better. By the age of 4-7 months, their fur will darken. Puppies are weaned at the age of 6-8 months. Tapirs reach sexual maturity at the age of 3-4 years, but females reach this age somewhat earlier. In the wild tapirs can reach the age of 35 years.

The number of tapirs began to decrease more and more, due to their intensive hunting for meat and skin. The destruction of their habitat also puts them at risk of extinction. The Brazilian tapir and Malayan tapir are classified as vulnerable species.

Baird's tapir and the mountain tapir are classified as endangered species, the most threatened of these two species being the mountain tapir. Today, several tapir conservation programs are underway, which will help save and restore the number of these animals.

The oldest tapir conservation project is Baird's project in costa Rica, dating back to 1994, and consists of placing collars with transmitters at the neck of tapirs in Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica, to study their behavior and habitat preferences.

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