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Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a Suidae, with a short, prehensile nose trunk (proboscis). Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America and Central America and Southeast Asia. They are one of three extant branches of Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), alongside Equidae and rhinoceroses. Only a single genus, Tapirus, is currently extant. Tapirs migrated into South America during the Pleistocene epoch from North America after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama as part of the Great American Interchange. Tapirs were formerly present across North America, but became extinct in the region at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago.
| Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America |
| Venezuela, Colombia, and the Guianas in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the south, to Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador in the West. |
| Eastern and Central Cordilleras mountains in Colombia, Ecuador, and the far north of Peru. |
| Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand |
The four species are all classified on the IUCN Red List as either Endangered or Vulnerable. The tapirs have a number of extinct relatives in the superfamily Tapiroidea. The closest extant relatives of the tapirs are the other odd-toed ungulates, which include , Asinus, and .
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| M. harrisonensis |
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| N. robustus |
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| P. intermedius |
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| P. yagii |
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| P. simplex |
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| Giant tapir ( T. augustus)
Cope's tapir ( T. haysii) T. veroensis |
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Females have a single pair of mammary glands,Gorog, A. (2001). Tapirus terrestris, Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved June 19, 2006. and males have long penises relative to their body size.
Tapirs have brachyodont, or low-crowned teeth, that lack cementum. Their dental formula is: Totaling 42 to 44 teeth, this dentition is closer to that of equids, which may differ by one less canine, than their other perissodactyl relatives, rhinoceroses.Ballenger, L. and P. Myers. 2001. "Tapiridae" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved June 20, 2006.Huffman, Brent. Order Perissodactyla at Ultimate Ungulate Their incisors are chisel-shaped, with the third large, conical upper incisor separated by a short gap from the considerably smaller canine. A much longer gap is found between the canines and premolars, the first of which may be absent." Tapirs are , and their cheek teeth have distinct lophs (ridges) between protocones, paracones, metacones and hypocones.Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Diversity of Cheek Teeth. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Retrieved June 20, 2006.Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Basic Structure of Cheek Teeth. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Retrieved June 20, 2006.
Tapirs have brown eyes, often with a bluish cast to them, which has been identified as cloudiness, a condition most commonly found in Malayan tapirs. The exact etiology is unknown, but the cloudiness may be caused by excessive exposure to light or by trauma. Tapirs Described, the Tapir GalleryJanssen, Donald L., DVM, Dipl ACZM, Bruce A. Rideout, DVM, PhD, Dipl ACVP, Mark E. Edwards, PhD. "Medical Management of Captive Tapirs (Tapirus sp.)." 1996 American Association of Zoo Veterinarians Proceedings. Nov 1996. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Pp. 1–11 However, the tapir's sensitive ears and strong sense of smell help to compensate for deficiencies in vision.
Tapirs have simple stomachs and are hindgut fermenters that ferment digested food in a large cecum.
In the wild, the tapir's diet consists of fruit, berries, and leaves, particularly young, tender vegetation. Tapirs will spend many of their waking hours foraging along well-worn trails, snouts to the ground in search of food. Baird's tapirs have been observed to eat around 40 kg (85 lb) of vegetation in one day. TPF News, Tapir Preservation Fund, Vol. 4, No. 7, July 2001. See section on study by Charles Foerster.
Tapirs are largely nocturnal and crepuscular, although the smaller mountain tapir of the Andes is generally more active diurnal animal than its Conspecificity. They have monocular vision.
Copulation may occur in or out of water. In captivity, mating pairs will often copulate several times during oestrus. Intromission lasts between 10 and 20 minutes.
Approximate divergence times based on a 2013 analysis of mtDNA sequences are 0.5 megaannum for T. kabomani and the T. terrestris– T. pinchaque clade, 5 Ma for T. bairdii and the three South American tapirs, and 9 Ma for the branching of T. indicus. T. pinchaque arises from within a paraphyletic complex of T. terrestris populations.
The Malayan tapir, the species most isolated geographically and genetically, has a significantly smaller number of chromosomes and has been found to share fewer homologies with the three types of American tapirs. A number of conserved (13 between karyotypes of Baird's tapir and the South American tapir, and 15 between Baird's and the mountain tapir) have also been found in the American species that are not found in the Asian animal. However, geographic proximity is not an absolute predictor of genetic similarity; for instance, Giemsa preparations have revealed Malayan, Baird's and South American tapirs have identical , while mountain tapirs are separated by a heterochromatic addition/deletion.
Lack of genetic diversity in tapir populations has become a major source of concern for conservationists. Habitat loss has isolated already small populations of wild tapirs, putting each group in greater danger of dying out completely. Even in zoos, genetic diversity is limited; all captive mountain tapirs, for example, are descended from only two founder individuals. Mountain Tapir Conservation at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
Hybrids of Baird's and the South American tapirs were bred at the San Francisco Zoo around 1969 and later produced a backcross second generation. Pictures of T. bairdii x T. terrestris cross taken by Sheryl Todd, The Tapir Gallery, web site of the Tapir Preservation Fund
The Baird's Tapir Project of Costa Rica, begun in 1994, is the longest ongoing tapir project in the world. It involves placing radio collars on tapirs in Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park to study their social systems and habitat preferences.
The Lowland Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative is a conservation and research organization founded by Patrícia Medici, focused on tapir conservation in Brazil.
Frank Buck wrote about an attack by a tapir in 1926, which he described in his book, Bring 'Em Back Alive.
Habitat, predation, and vulnerability
Adult tapirs are large enough to have few natural predators, and the thick skin on the backs of their necks helps to protect them from threats such as , , , and . The creatures are also able to run fairly quickly, considering their size and cumbersome appearance, finding shelter in the thick undergrowth of the forest or in water. Hunting for meat and hides has substantially reduced their numbers and, more recently, habitat loss has resulted in the conservation watch-listing of all four species; the Brazilian tapir is classified as vulnerable, and Baird's tapir, the mountain tapir, and the Malayan tapir are endangered. According to 2022 study published in the Neotropical Biology and Conservation, the lowland tapir in the Atlantic Forest is at risk of complete extinction as a result of anthropogenic pressures, in particular hunting, deforestation and population isolation.
Evolution and natural history
Tapirs originated from the "Tapiroidea", a group of primitive perissodactyls that inhabited North America and Asia during the Eocene epoch, with tapirs probably originating from the family Helaletidae. The oldest known members of the family Tapiridae such as Protapirus are known from the Early Oligocene of Europe. The oldest representatives of the modern genus Tapirus appeared in Europe during the Mid-Miocene, with Tapirus dispersing into Asia and North America by the late Miocene. Tapirus became extinct in Europe around the end of the Pliocene. Tapirs dispersed into South America during Pleistocene as part of the Great American Biotic Interchange with their oldest records on the continent dating to around 2.6-1 million years ago.
Genetics
The species of tapir have the following chromosome numbers:
Conservation
A number of conservation projects have been started around the world. The Tapir Specialist Group, a unit of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, strives to conserve biological diversity by stimulating, developing, and conducting practical programs to study, save, restore, and manage the four species of tapir and their remaining habitats in Central and South America and Southeast Asia.
Attacks on humans
Tapirs are generally shy, but when scared they can defend themselves with their very powerful jaws. In 1998, a zookeeper in Oklahoma City was mauled and had an arm severed after opening the door to a female tapir's enclosure to push food inside (the tapir's two-month-old baby also occupied the cage at the time).Hughes, Jay (20 November 1998). "Woman's arm bitten off in zoo attack". Associated Press. In 2006, Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Echandi (who was then the Costa Rican Environmental Minister) became lost in the Corcovado National Park and was found by a search party with a "nasty bite" from a wild tapir. "Interview with Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Echandi", IUCN Tapir Specialist Group 2006 In 2013, a two-year-old girl suffered stomach and arm injuries after being mauled by a South American tapir in Dublin Zoo during a supervised experience in the tapir enclosure. Dublin Zoo pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations and was ordered to pay €5,000 to charity.Tuite, Tom (14 October 2014) "Dublin Zoo pleads guilty to safety breach in tapir attack on child", The Irish Times However, such examples are rare; for the most part, tapirs are likely to avoid confrontation in favour of running from predators, hiding, or, if possible, submerging themselves in nearby water until a threat is gone. Report contains accounts of wild mountain tapirs shying away from human contact at salt deposits after being hunted, and hiding.
Folklore
Tapirs feature in the folklore of several cultures around the world. In Japan, tapirs are associated with the mythological Baku, believed to ward off nightmares. In South America, tapirs are associated with the creation of the earth.
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