SNORKEL SNOUT-TAPIR Facts

SNORKEL SNOUT-TAPIR Facts

1. Although the tapir looks like a cross between a pig and an elephant its closest relatives are horses, zebras and rhinos.

2. In South America the tapir is also known as: tapii, anta, mborebi, huagra, manipuri,danta, gran bestia, marebis, bushcow, bosfroe, boskoe and sacha vaca. The name tapir comes from the Brazilian Indian word for ‘thick’, just like its tough skin.

3. Tapirs once lived in Britain but became extinct about 100,000 years ago.

4. The tapir’s snout is like a primitive snorkel.

5. Common Tapir is a shy, pig-like forest inhabitant that is in the same order of animals - odd toed ungulates - as horses, rhinos and zebras. Each foot of the tapir has three toes ending with a hoof. Although some say four toes at the front, three toes at the back, the fourth digit is small.

6. This is the largest mammal in South America and has remained unchanged for over 35 million years. 

7. The short, erect mane known as a saggital crest is prominent and thought to help them escape  predators if they are seized round the neck.

8. The tapir spends a lot of its time wallowing in water and mud, or lying quietly in the shade of undergrowth resting from the intense heat of the forest. 

9. Given its size and bulk it is surprisingly agile and can use its great weight to push through dense forest and run swiftly when needed or can cope with steep river banks. 

10. If threatened the tapir will head for water at some speed and if cornered will defend  itself using its teeth.

11. There is usually an elaborate courtship in which the male chases the female and they enter into a mock fight with high pitched squeals. After one of the longest of mammal pregnancies, thirteen months, the female gives birth in a secluded spot in the forest and has just one young. The baby weighs approximately 7-11 kg and is distinctly patterned with white stripes and spots that run along its body and legs.

12. The tapir travels along well-worn tracks which it scent marks with urine. 

13. It is nearly always found in or near swampy ground or water where it cools down and rids itself of parasites. In water the tapir is a fast swimmer and is able to dive and stay submerged for minutes at a time. 

14. The tapir is a browsing animal foraging in dense forest and open clearings for foliage, vegetation, palm fruits, walnuts, and seeds. Its favourite food is young green shoots, but it also feeds on cultivated crops, making it unpopular with farmers.

15. The tapir plays an important role in maintaining palm forests through the dispersal of seeds. The palm seeds are not digested by the tapir and are passed in their dung onto the forest floor so spreading the growth of new plants. 

16. The tapir is very selective in its choice of food and uses its odd, mobile nose to sniff around for the best plants and fruits. It walks along with its snout close to the ground, sweeping its head from side to side, and stretching and withdrawing its nose. When the tapir finds a good source of food it uses its nose to help pick shoots and leaves by drawing them into its mouth.

17. Although this snout may look like a shortened version of an elephant’s trunk the two species are not related. The tapir can explore an area of ground with its mobile snout 30 cm in diameter without having to move the rest of its head.

18. The youngster has a striking coat of pale spots and stripes on a reddish brown background which camouflage it on the forest floor. This is moulted out after about a year but the youngster may stay with its mother for up to 2 years.

19. Tapirs are as happy in water as on the forest floor and often forage along river bottoms. They use water as an escape from predators such as jaguars using their long nose as a snorkle!

20. Has a prehensile nose used to search for food. Prehensile Snout.
The tapir’s upper lip and nose are elongated to form a distinctive prehensile snout that is similar to a stubby elephant’s trunk. This flexible extended nose is used for plucking leaves and shoots from trees as well as sniffing their way along forest trails. 

21. They have an excellent sense of smell and rely on scents for communication. 

22. Urine spraying is used to mark well-used pathways between feeding areas and water sources. 

23. Very agile and can negotiate steep slopes with ease. 

24. Tapirus is a Latinized corruption of Tapyra, the name given to tapirs by the Tupi, an aboriginal tribe from the Amazon. 

25. Tapirs are an ancient group of animals-known as "Living Fossils". 

26. Males are slightly smaller than the females.

27. Good hill climbers and runners.

28. Walks with snout close to ground: detection of food, predators, other tapirs.

29. Moves in a zig-zag manner, constantly foraging.

30. Hunted for meat, hide, trophy, folk medicine.

31. Known to consume 75 lbs of forage in one night.

32. Long digestive period: 4-23 days.

33. Defecates in water.

34. Infant shelters by itself while mother forages.

35. At ~1 week, begins to follow mother.

36. Remains with mother 10-11 months.

37. May contract infectious diseases from cattle and horses.

38. Tapirs communicate with high-pitched squeaks and whistles. 

39. Tapirs communicate with high-pitched squeaks and whistles. 

40. The Malayan tapir is the largest of the four species of tapir and the only species in Asia. 

41. Tapirs have poor eyesight but good hearing and sense of smell.