- Baird;s Tapir, Tapirus bairdii
- Malyan Tapir, Taipirus indicus
- Mountain Tapir, Tapirus pinchaque
- Brazilan Tapir, Tapirus terrestris
Baird;s Tapir is a species of tapir that is native to central America and Northern South America.It is one of three Latin American species of tapir. It is names for the America naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird who travelled to Mexico in 1843 and observed the animals.
Baird's Tapie has a distinctive cream-colored marking on its face and throat and a dark spot on each cheek, behind and below the eye. The rest of its hair is dark brown or greyish brown. The animal is the largest of the three American species and, in fact, the larges land mammal found in the wild from Mexico to South America. Baird's Tapirs usually grow to 2 metres(6.6 ft) in length and 1.2 metres(3.9ft) in height, and adults weigh 240-400 kilograms (530880 lb)
Baird's Tapir may be active at all hours, but is primarily noctunal. It forages for leaves and fallen fruit, using well-worn tapir paths which zig-zag through the thick undergrowth of the forest. The animal usually stay close to water and enjoys swimming and wading- on especially hto days, individuals will rest in a watering hole for hours with only their heads above water. It generally leads a solitary life, though feeding groups are not uncommon and individuals, especiallu those of diffesrent ages often observed together. The animals communicate with one another through shrill whistles and squeaks. Adults can be potentially dangerous to human if approached, so if you spot one in the wild approach with caution.
Malayan Tapir, Tapirus indicus
The Malayan Tapir(Tapirus indicus), also called the Asian Tapir, is the largest of the four species of tapir and the only one native to Asia. The sicentifir name refers to the East Indies, the species natural habitat. In the Malay language, the tapir is commonly referred to as "cipan", tenuk" or "badak tampong".
The animal is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored "saddle" whihc extends from its shoulders to its rump. The rest of its hair is balck, except for the tips of its ears which, as with other tapirs are rimmed with white. This pattern is for camouflage.
Malayan Tapirs grow to between6 and 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4m) in length, stand 3 to 3.5 feet (90 yo 107 cm)tall, and weigh between 550 and 700 pounds (250 to 320 kg), although they can weight up to 1,100 pounds (500kg). The females are usually larger than the males. Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flecible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and theree toes on each back foot. The Malayan Tapir has rather poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell.
The Malayan tapir has very poor eyesight, and making them rely greatly on their excellend sense of smell and hearing to go about in their everydat lives. The Malayan tapir has small, beady eyes with brown irises on either side of their face. Their eyes are often covered in a blue haze, which is corneal cloudiness thought to be caused by repetitive exposure to light. This causes the Malayan tapir to have very inadequate vision, both on land and in water. Also, as the tapir is most active at night and since they have poor eyeside, it makes it harder for them to search for food and avoid predators in the dark.
Exclusively vegetarian, the animal forrages for the tender shoots and leaves of more than 115 species of plants (around 30 are particularly preferred), moving slowly throught the forest and pausing often to eat and note the scents left behind by other tapirs in the area. However, when threatened or frightened, the tapir can run quickly, despite its considerable bulk, and they can also defend themselves with their strong jaws and sharp teeth. Malayan Tapirs communicate with hight-pitched squeaks and whistles. They usually prefer to live near water and often bathe and swim, and they are also able to climb steep slopes.
Mountain Tapir, Tapirus pinchaque
The Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is the smallest of the four species of tapir and is the only one to live outside of tropical rainforests in the wild.
The species name comes from the term " La Pinchaque", an imaginary beast said yo inhabit the same regions as the Mountain Tapir. The Mountain Tapir is most easily recognized by its woolly coat ( it is sometimes referred to as the woolly tapir) and its white lower lip. They may have greyish-black or brown coats, often depending on where they live, and often the hair around their cheeks is lighter.
Adults are usually aound 1.8 metres ( 6 feet) in length and 0.75 to 1 meter (2.5 to 3 feet) in heights. They typically weigh between 150 and 225 kilograms (325 to 500 pounds). The females are more often larger than the males, but usually the sexes are indiestinguishable by size.
When around othe members of their species, Mountain Tapir communicate through high-pitched whistles, and the male occasinally fight over oestrous females by trying to bite each other's rear legs. Despite their bulk ,they trael easily through dense foliage, up the steep slopes of their hilly habitat, and in water, where they often wallow and swim. When trying to access high plants, it will sometimes rear up on its hind legs to rweach and then grab with its perhensile snout. It also seeks out natural salt licks to satisfy its need for essential minerals. Though its eyesight is lacking, it gets by with its keen senses of smell and taste, as well as the sensitive bristles on its proboscis.
Brazilian Tapir (also called Lowland Tapir), Tapirus terrestris
The South American Tapir ( Tapirus terrestris), or Brazilian Tapir (from the tupi tapi'ira) or Lowland Tapir or (in Portuguese) Anta, is one of four species in the tapir family, along with the Mountain Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, and Baird's Tapir. It is the largest wild land animal in South America.
It is dark brown in color and has a low, erect mane running from the crown down the back of the neck. THe South American Tapir can attain a body length of 1.8 to 2.5m (5.9 to 8.2 ft) with a 5 to 10cm short stubby tail and 270 kg in weight. It stands somewhere between 77 to 108 cm at the shoulder.
The species are excellent swimmers and divers but also moves quicklu on land, even over rugged, mountainous terrain. The species has a life span of approximately 25 to 30 years. In the wild, the main predators of the South American Tapir are crocodilians is critically endangered, are large enough to take Tapirs, as the American Crocodile only exist in South America in the far north and large cats such as the JAguar and Cougat, which often attack the tapir at night when they leave the water and sleep on the riverbank. They are known to run to water when scared.
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