The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) is an animal which rated by International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) in IUCN Red List of Threatened Species with a endangered conservation status. The Malayan Tapir or Asian Tapir have the largest size among the other three species of tapir, which are Baird’s Tapir, Mountain Tapir and Brazilian Tapir.
Baird’s Tapirs are distributed in Central America and northern South America country. In El Salvador, the Tapir almost have been extinct. In Ecuador, the presence of the Tapir is unconfirmed. Baird’s Tapir has a distinctive cream-colored marking on its face and throat and a dark spot on each cheek, behind and below the eye. The Mountain Tapir normally stay in the cloud forests and Páramo of the Andes in Colombia, Ecuador and north of Peru. During the wet season, Mountain Tapirs tend to inhabit the forests of the Andes, while during the drier months, they migrate to the Páramo where there are fewer biting insects to pester them. The South American Tapir (Brazilian Tapir) can be found near water in the Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east if the Andes. Its range stretches from Venezuela, Colombia, and Guianas in north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, in the south, to Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador in the west. . The Brazilian Tapir often sinks to the bottom of a stream and walks along the riverbed to feed
After introducing the relative of Malayan Tapir, Malayan Tapir also called as “cipan”, “tenuk” or “badak tampong” in Malay. Malayan Tapir ranged only in Asia region. In scientific term, Malayan Tapir also called as Tapirus indicus. Tapirus is a Latinized corruption of tapyra which refer to Tupi (the Tupis are an aboriginal tribe from amazon). Indicus (Latin) means of India. This name is misleading as this ungulate does not live in India, and was probably meant to refer to the East Indies (Malay Peninsula). Due to its larger in size, different range and unique colour, this tapir sometimes places in the genus Acrocodia.
To study the origin of the Tapir, we roll back the time to 55.4-48.6 mya during the Eocene epoch. Researchers believe the first Tapir appeared as Heptodon. Heptodon is an extinct genus of tapir-type herbivore of the family Helaletidae endemic to North America during the Eocene epoch. It lived from 55.4-48.6 mya, existing for approximately 6.8 million years. Heptodon appeared very similar to modern tapir in appearance, but were about half the size and without the proboscis. The tapir family is old by mammal standards: the earliest fossil tapir dates to the early Oligocene, and Eocene rocks from as long as 55 million years ago contain a wide range of tapir-like animals. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates: horses and rhinoceroses. The first true tapirs appeared in the Oligocene, and by the Miocene, such genera as Miotapirus were almost indistinguishable from the extant species. It is believed that Asian and American tapirs diverged around 20-30 million years ago, and the tapirs migrated from North America to South America around 3 million years ago as part of the Great American Interchange. For much of their history, tapirs were spread across the northern hemisphere, where they became extinct as recently as 10,000 years ago. The species T. polkensis became extinct during the Miocene in Asia, while T.merriami, veroensis, copei, and californicus became extinct during the Pleistocene in North America. In addition, It is also believed by some scientists that the tapir may have evolved from the Hyracotherium (a primitive horse).
There are four widely recognised extant tapir species, through some author describe more, and a number of extinct species.
Baird;s Tapir, Tapirus bairdii
Malyan Tapir, Taipirus indicus
Mountain Tapir, Tapirus pinchaque
Brazilan Tapir, Tapirus terrestris
Baird;s Tapir, Tapirus bairdii
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.
Tapir is only active during the nights, its season of activity it wanders forth in search of food, which consists of water-melons, gourds, young shoots of brushwood, but during hot day it is not very particular in its diet. The tapir is also a great swimmer or diver. It is great deal in rivers and feeds on aquatic plants or wallows in mud to rid itself of parasites. It also can climb river banks and steep mountainsides. Apart from the mating season the tapir is a solitary animal.
Adult tapirs are large enough that they have few natural predators, and the thick skin on the backs of their necks help to protect them. Only occasionally do tapirs demonstrate a threatening gesture. Then their rarely used weapons are exhibited as they pull their lips apart to expose their teeth. Though there teeth are not too frightening in appearance, if a threatening tapir does attack with them, it can seriously injure an opponent. Instances are known where seemingly harmless tapirs suddenly went wild and attacked everything within their their reach with their teeth.
Tapirs occasionally only use to against their natural enemies, such as jaguars, crocodiles, anacondas and tigers. The creatures are able to run fairly quickly, considering their numbers and, more recently, massive habitat loss has resulted in the conversation watch -listing of all four species: both the Brazalian Tapir and the Malayan Tapir are classified as vulnerable: and the Baird's Tapir and the Mountain Tapir are endangered.
Solitary by nature, no more than two or three tapirs are ever seen together. The tapir is a nocturnal animal, spending much of its time feeding on water plants and brownsing on twigs, leaves, grasses and fallen fruit. The compact streamlined shape of the tapir's body is ideal for pushing through the dense undergrowth of the forest floor.
In the wild, all species of tapirs prefer wooded or grassy areas with places to shelter during the day and a lake, river and a lake, river, or pond for taking a dip at night. Tapir have been observed to eat around 40 kilograms (85 pounds) of vegetation in one days. Tapir will spend many of their waking hours foraging along well-worn trails, snouts to the ground in search of food. Since they live in the forest and around streams, tapirs eat small braches and leaves as well as fresh sprouts. They pull the food from trees using their teeth and their mobile snout. They also eat fallen fruit and water plants.
Tapirs eat a variety of plant food, including ferns, grasses, leaves and fallen fruits. Scientists studying tapirs have notices that they follow a zigzag through the forest, taking only a few leaves from any one plant. This method of eating keeps food plentiful. If foods are out of reach, they will reach up, with hind feet planted firmlly on the ground and front feet pushing against rocks or other natural objects. Lowland tapirs have been reported eating stranded fish in the Amazon. Tapirs tend to eat before the sun rises and after it sets.
Besides that, tapirs like to spend lots of time in the water, eating aquatic plants, cooling off, or washing away skin parasites. They can stay under the water for several minutes. Even youngster is able to swim when just a few days old. When frightened, tapirs can take to the water and breather with their snout poked above the surface like a snorkl. When tapirs mate, and female gets pregnant the male brings food for them.
