Central American Tapir
Wendy Simms |
Creature Profile
The Central American Tapir is also called Baird's Tapir and is the largest mammal native to Central America. It is almost the same size as a small donkey and weighs up to 665 lbs. It measures up to 100 inches in length and has a stocky body that is well covered with bristly fur. It is colored dark brown to red on the upper part and is paler on the underside. Around its ears are white fringes and its lips are also white. It may possess white spots on the throat and chest sometimes. Although not always noticeable, it has a narrow but long mane around the neck. The Central American Tapir has slim legs that are short, and it possesses a fleshy Proboscis that is short (an extended form of the snout and upper lip). It has small eyes that flush with the side of the head and large, erect, not very mobile ears that are oval in shape. Its back foot has only three toes, while its front foot has one smaller toe and three main ones.
This species feeds on a variety of twigs, leaves, fruits and seeds. Feeding is mostly during the night time since it is a nocturnal animal. They love forested areas with lots of streams and ponds. They live in habitats such as tropical rain forests, montane cloud forests, palm swamps, riparian forests, marshes, woodlands, and grasslands. They prefer to remain in altitudes between sea level and 12,000 feet. This mammal spends its time on land and in freshwater. Breeding takes place all year long but more so just before the onset of a rainy season. After a gestation period of up to 400 days the female gives birth to a litter of one, and the young tapir weighs about 21 lbs at birth. It is weaned after one year and attains sexual maturity between the 2nd and 3rd year.
The Central American Tapir is listed as Endangered under the IUCN Red list. Major threats are mainly hunting and loss of habit as a result of agricultural activities. They are also killed by road accidents and transmission of diseases. This species occurs in protected areas, and the IUCN has started development of programs aimed at conserving them and their habitat. Only around 3,000 individuals exists in the wild.
Wikipedia Article
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Wikipedia Article Copyright Notice: This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Baird's tapir". |
March 3, 2025
Mugo, C. R. 2025. "Earth's Endangered Creatures - Central American Tapir Facts" (Online). Accessed 5/15/2026 at https://earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?sp=444&ID=9.
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