Tapirs of the world

Family: Tapiridae

Tapirs are distributed in the Americas and in Malaysia. Their upper lip has been evolved as a trunk, which comes with its unique feature to indulge on water plants. There are 4 species reported in this Family. All four of them prefer aquatic, swampy areas, while one lives on mountains. Tapirs are very important in the balance of the aquatic environments. From the four Tapirs, 3 lives in the American Continent, while one species lives in the Asian Continent (Java, Sumathra, Malaysia). Gestation period is about 10 months.

Brazilian Tapir - Tapirus terrestris Dark brown in colour. External ears are relatively large. A long mane of hair could be observed behind the neck, which will be puffed out in danger. Consist of three toes, which help to move through the marshy lands easily without sinking. 180-250cm in body length, where height to the shoulder is around 75cm. Weighing around 150-300kg. The distribution of Tapirs in America is through the low plains to the Amazon rainforest. As natural predators; Jaguar, Puma, and Anaconda for baby Tapirs. Even the natives hunt for their meat.

Mountain Tapir - Tapirus pinchaque The body colour ranges from dark brown to black varies. Body length in 180-250cm. Lives in low plains in the Andes and East of Columbia mountains. Body size is much smaller than the ones living in low lands. A strong body is an adaptation for living in the mountains. The mountain grasslands are the main diet areas, other than that they take in fruits as well. As a natural predator, Puma can be significant.

Baird’s Tapir - Tapirus bairdii This is the largest of all the Tapirs. Body colour is light brown. These Tapirs lives in swampy areas in South America and Mexico. The babies are attacked by Caimans and Anacondas too.

Summary of Mammals' Group Lecture - 25.Oct.2009. Sketch from http://howstuffworks.com/