- Asiatic lion
- Aye-aye
- Black howler monkey
- Black lion tamarin
- Black rat
- Brown rat, Norway rat
- Brush-tailed bettong
- Capybara
- Common squirrel monkey
- De Brazza's Monkey
- Geoffroy's marmoset
- Dwarf mongoose
- Goeldi's monkey
- Giant jumping rat
- Golden-headed lion tamarin
- Golden lion tamarin
- Grey mouse lemur
- Javan langur
- Lac Alaotra gentle lemur, Bandro
- Lion-tailed macaque
- Livingstone's fruit bat
- Mongoose lemur
- White-faced saki
- Naked mole rat
- North American river otter
- Okapi
- Owl monkey
- Pygmy hippopotamus
- Pygmy slow loris
- Red panda
- Red ruffed lemur
- Ring-tailed lemur
- Sand cat
- Slender-tailed meerkat
- South American fur seal
- South American tapir
- Southern pudu
- Spiny mouse
- Two-toed sloth
- Water vole
- Western lowland gorilla
South American tapir
Scientific name: Tapirus terrestris
Country: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
Continent: South America
Diet: fruit/veg, pellet, lucerne and browse.
Food & feeding: Herbivore
Habitats: Tropical rainforest, Tropical grassland
Conservation status: Not Threatened
Relatives: Malayan Tapir, Horse, Rhinoceros
Description: The tapir is related to other hooved mammals known as Perissodactyla, (odd-toed ungulates) including the horse and rhinoceros. The tapir's hind feet have three digits, each hooved, while the front feet have four. It stands about 1m high and is about 2m long, has a heavy body and bristly waxy fur with a short mane from the top of its head to its shoulders. One of its main features is a short proboscis, an extension of the nose and upper lip, like an elephant's trunk which has nostrils at the tip and is used to pull and hold branches of trees while feeding. It has weak eyesight and relies largely on hearing and smell.
Lifestyle: The Tapir is mainly active after dark and spend the daytime resting in dense undergrowth. At night it emerges to browse on plants growing in forest clearings and alongside streams and rivers. If frightened, tapirs will dive into a nearby stream or river. They are very good swimmers.
Family & Friends: Tapirs are solitary animals, only coming together in the breeding season. If they do meet outside of the breeding season, they are often aggressive towards oneanother. Sometimes they are aggressive even after mating with oneanother
Keeping in touch: Males urinate at regular scent-marking posts, leaving messages for other Tapirs to read using their extra-sensitive Jacobson's organ, a special extension of the nasal cavity inside the skull. They also call to oneanother in shrill, whistling screams. Young make a ticking sound that probably helps them stay in contact with the mother in dense vegetation. Before an aggressive meeting with another tapir, they may make sudden snorting sound to each other.
Growing up: A female tapir breeds once a year, the gestation period being 12-13 months. At birth, the single calf has a beautiful patterned coat with spots and stripes for camouflage which begin to fade at 6-8 months. The young Tapir is able to breed at about two years and can live for 30 years in captivity.
Did you know?
Tapirs form regular trails that lead through almost impenetrable undergrowth. Their hooved feet carve muddy tracks that are sometimes used by civil engineers when looking for routes for new roads.
Conservation news
Conservation news: Tapirs, while not threatened with extinction are under threat from hunting, forest clearance and swamp drainage. The good news is due to their shy nature they are often overlooked and the total population may be larger than previously realised. Tapirs were recently discovered living in Estacao Veracruz, a private reserve in Bahia State, Brazil. There is concern that small populations such as these are becoming separated by deforestation.
