MALAYAN TAPIR

Conservation Status:

Critically Endangered

Scientific Classification

Kingdom          : Animalia

Phylum             : Chordata

Class                  : Mammalia

Order                 : Perissodactyla

Family               : Tapiridae

Genus                : Tapirus

Species              : Tapirus Indicus

Trinomial Name:

Tapirus Indicus

Local Name (Malay): 
tapir, cipan,tenuk

Fact about Malayan Tapir 

There are five species of tapir in the world and only the Malayan Tapir is native to Asia the largest tapir. The head-body length is about 250 cm, the height at the shoulder about 100 cm. It weights 260-375 kg. The coat is short, sparse, and not concealing the skin.Malayan tapirs have large, stocky bodies which are black in white in colour. They also have a long nose, known as a proboscis. They use the proboscis as a snorkel when underwater and to grab branches, fruits or leaves off the trees. They are generally solitary animals, only socialising during breeding. When a Malayan tapir is born it is brown with beige stripes and spots, which make the calf look like a watermelon on legs. This pattern is great camouflage for the calf in the dappled sunlight of the forest. The calf loses the marking after a few months.

Habitat

 Tapirs are found in tropical forests in Indonesia, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia and Thailand.

Diet 

 Tapirs (herbivore) eat grasses, leaves, aquatic plants and twigs.

Threats

Tapirs are hunted for their meat. Habitat destruction is also a major threat to this species of tapir.

Current population 

In Malaysia there are as few as 15,000 left in the wild. Their habitats are rapidly disappearing and experts believe that populations will continue to decline. There are also 160 living in zoos around the world.