Tapir

Greetings all and welcome to Tapir week! As you can see from this picture the tapir is a unique looking animal. I always thought they were some kind of anteater based upon their snouts. But nooooooooo, they are actually related to horses and rhinoceros. They are mammals and herbivores and that nose is completely connected to and part of their upper lips. It’s a prehensile nose and that means they can use it to grab things like good plants to eat with it.

Not only are those noses great for snagging a tasty treat, they apparently make a great snorkel as well because the Tapir is a great swimmer. I’m talking Johnny Weissmuller great (ok I know you had to be a certain age to get that so I will keep the puns age neutral :). The tapir can grab plants off of the bottom of a pond or river with that snout.

There are 4 kinds of Tapirs: Baird’s, Lowland, Mountain, and Malayan. The largest of these is the Malayan which can grow up to 800 pounds and be almost 3 feet high on all fours so we are talking a pretty stocky critter whose size should be respected when encountered. Tapirs live in the grasslands, swamps and forests of Central America, South America and Asia. It should be noted that they are an endangered species that face the challenges of habitat loss, so they’re in need of not only your affection but your conservation support.

A group of tapirs is called a “Candle”. The gestation period for a female tapir is 13 months, that’s a lot of trips to the store for ice cream and pickles lol. When a baby tapir is born it is spotted for camouflage, the spots disappear as it matures. The tapir has a lifespan of 25-30 years.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about the tapir is its role in spreading the seeds of fruits and plants. As an herbivore whose diet includes fruits a tapir’s bio-waste is an instrumental factor in the reproductive cycle of flora in its habitats.

Next time you’re in Timbavati Wildlife Park, stop and take a gander at our Tapir, especially since you know it isn’t an anteater now. :)