Betty

Name:
Baird’s Tapir

Scientific Name:
Tapirus bairdii

Status:
Endangered

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Tapiridae
Genus: Tapirus
Species: T. bairdii

General Information:
Baird’s tapir, also known as the Central American tapir, is the largest of the three species of tapir in Central and South America. It is a nocturnal creature, becoming active at dusk and then throughout the night. It is subject to natural predation by jaguars and pumas. It has also suffered severely from human encroachment, being a victim of habitat destruction and hunting. Baird’s tapir is currently listed as an “Endangered Species” by the IUCN.

Physical Description:
Baird’s tapir is adorned with a dark, brown-grayish coat. It has distinctive cream-colored patches on portions of its face and along its throat. It generally grows to about 6.5 feet in length and weighs around 525 - 880 lbs. Similar to other tapirs, its tail resembles a large stump, and its nose is an extended snout that hangs over its lower mouth. It has four toes on each of its front feet and three toes on each of its back feet. The newborns, like all tapir species, have reddish-brown coats with white stripes and spots. This acts as camouflage to protect the very vulnerable young. This pattern disappears as the tapir reaches adulthood.

Diet:
It feeds on a variety of vegetation, eating the twigs and growing tips of undergrowth. It also consume a large amount of fallen fruit and aquatic vegetation when available.

Habitat:
Baird’s tapir is found in the dense rainforests, deciduous forests, lower montane forests, and marshes of Central and northern South America. It is distributed from Mexico’s Oaxaca province south through Central America into the Darien region, to the west of the Andes Mountains in Colombia.

Reproduction:
Gestation for Baird’s tapir typically lasts around 400 days, after which time 1, or rarely 2, young are born. Baird’s tapirs reach sexual maturity at 1.5 - 2 years of age.

Tony Mandarich

WNCT

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