Brazilian Tapir

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South American Tapir
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Perissodactyla Family: Tapiridae Genus: Tapirus Species: T. terrestris
Binomial name
Tapirus terrestris (Linnaeus, 1758)

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 the Baird's Tapir. It is the largest wild land animal in South America.

[edit] Appearance

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 2.5 m (6 to 8 ft) with a 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) long tail and 270 kg (595 lbs) in weight. It stands somewhere between 77 to 108 cm (2.5 to 3.5 feet) at the shoulder.

[edit] Range

The South American Tapir can be found near water in the Amazon Rainforest and River Basin in South America, east of the Andes. Its range stretches from Venezuela, Colombia, and Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the West.

[edit] Behavior

Flehmen response

The species are excellent swimmers and divers but also moves quickly 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 and large cats such as the Jaguar and Cougar, which often attack the tapir at night when they leave the water and sleep on the riverbank. They are known to run to the water when scared.

[edit] Diet

It is a herbivore. Using its mobile snout, this tapir feeds on leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches that it tears from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants.

Brazilian Tapir in northern Peru

They mate every month.

[edit] Endangered status

Dwindling numbers are due to poaching for meat and hide, as well as habitat destruction. The South American Tapir is generally recognized as an endangered animal species, with the species being designated as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on June 2, 1970. The South American Tapir, however, had a significantly lower risk of extinction than the other three tapir species.

[edit] References

• Downer & Castellanos (2002). Tapirus terrestris. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable

[edit] External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris)
• Tapir Specialist Group - Lowland Tapir