Tapirs are large mammals with short snouts that are very flexible. There are four species, or kinds, of tapir. They are found in jungles and forests in South America, Central America and Southeast Asia. They are in a group of animals called 'odd-toes ungulates'. Their closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates, horses and rhinoceroses. All four kinds of tapir are classified as endangered or vulnerable.

The Malayan tapir is the largest of four different types of tapir. It lives in the thick rainforests of Thailand.

Body
The black and white patches on the Malayan tapir's body are a good camouflage in the shadowy forest.The Malayan tapir is about one metre tall at the shoulder and weighs approximately 300 kilograms.

A tapir's snout is very flexible, and can move in any direction. It helps the animal grab leaves that would otherwise be out of reach.

Front paws have four toes, and back paws have three toes.

Tapirs are solitary animals, and are nocturnal (active at night) and crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk). They are able to run quickly. They have few predators, being quite large animals.

Life Cycle
The female gives birth to a single young after a pregnancy of 13 months. A young tapir is patterned with horizontal bands and spots of black and white.

Diet
The Malayan tapir eats leaves, buds, fruit and other plants, which it tugs with its nostrils that it uses like fingers. Its snout looks rather like a short elephant trunk. It also grazes on underwater plants which it gathers as it walks along the bottom of streams.

Conservation Status and threats
The Malayan tapir is endangered because it is hunted for food and for its skin, and also because its habitat is being destroyed by logging and farming. Tapirs are also hunted for meat and skin.

Acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Malayan Tapir (2001). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

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 updated September 2007