Herbivore Tapir: description, where it lives, what it looks like, photo, video. Types of tapirs: flat, mountain, scoop. Tapirs What do tapirs eat?

Tapirs (Tapirus) are artiodactyl mammals that live along the banks of water bodies and among dense shrubs in swampy areas. Once upon a time, these animals could be found anywhere the globe, now there are very few of them left and they live only on two continents - in Southeast Asia and North America.

Outwardly, tapirs resemble a mixture of a wild boar and an anteater. A stocky body on short but strong legs, an elongated muzzle with a soft movable trunk, with which they get food, small eyes and round ears, short tail and small hooves on the fingers - all this makes tapirs unusual and extremely interesting animals.

The movable trunk is not only a funny feature of the appearance of tapirs, it is a real key to the extraction of food, which comes in handy in a dense forest. With its help, the tapir reaches the leaves of trees, picks up fallen fruits from the ground, draws in suitable prey during spearfishing. The trunk is also an olfactory organ that skillfully reads signals of danger and the possibility of mating.

Tapir breeding is possible at any time of the year. Pregnancy lasts up to 400 days, and the cubs do not look like adult animals at all. They are born with a striped coloration that disappears after six months. In total, a tapir lives no more than 30 years, and females most often give birth to one cub. This explains the rapid disappearance of tapirs from the face of the earth.

The number of representatives of these unusual animals has decreased due to ongoing hunting for them and active clearing of forests. The main threat to them is, of course, man. Despite the ban on hunting, poachers often kill tapirs and sell their fatty meat and tough skin under the guise of buffalo, at a very high price.

Today, there are only four types of tapir left in the world - three of them live in America and one in Asia. All of them are characterized large sizes: the height at the withers reaches a meter, the body length is two meters, and they weigh from 150 to 300 kg.

The Central American tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is large animal with gray-brown short hair. Its habitat is the entire area from Mexico to Panama.

plains tapir(Tapirus terrestris) lives in northern South America. Its body is covered with brown-black hair, light spots are visible in places. On the neck is a thick mane. This animal is being hunted locals very fond of his meat. In most cases, the hunt ends in success, since the tapir does not run well, and it is far from always possible to hide in the water.

The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is found in the dense forests of Colombia and Ecuador. This is the smallest representative of the tapir genus. It differs from the two previous species in its monophonic thick coat and the absence of a mane.

black-backed tapir(Tapirus indicus) is found in southeast Asia. Especially a lot of them in Thailand, Burma and the Malay Peninsula. Its coat is two-tone - the middle of the body is light, as if covered with a "saddle", and the front legs and tail are dark brown. Thanks to this coloration, the tapir can camouflage itself in the jungle among the vegetation. Black-backed tapir is distinguished by its excellent ability to swim. Many individuals even mate in the water.

Tapirs love salt and are ready to go any distance in search of a treat. The trails trodden by tapirs look like a country road. They are sometimes used by engineers when designing new roads.

The Chinese and Japanese translate the name of this animal as "dream eaters". Tapirs are the least studied animals of all mammals. No one knows exactly how they build relationships within their groups and why they make a strange whistling sound.

All four remaining tapir species are listed in the Red Book and are protected by the Wildlife Fund.

Pedro Martyr still in early XVI century, he described the tapir as follows: "the size of a bull, with an elephant's trunk and with the hooves of a horse." In fact, this animal in appearance is an amazing mixture: at the same time it looks like a pig, a pony or a rhinoceros with a trunk like an elephant's, although shorter. In this article, we will talk in more detail about this interesting animal, which causes tenderness in many.

habitats

Tapir is a genus of large mammals belonging to the order of equids, allocated to the tapir family. In the language of one Brazilian tribe, the name of these animals means "thick", which directly refers to their skin.

Tapir is an animal that lives in Southeast Asia and Latin America. There, animals inhabit bushes and swampy forests along the banks of lakes and rivers. Modern views- these are the remains of a once extensive group, whose range extended to the whole. In America, these wild representatives of equids are the only ones.

Appearance

Over the past 30 million years, the appearance of the tapir has not changed much. Today, the lowland tapir is very similar to its ancient ancestors. In some ways it resembles a horse, something like a rhinoceros. In a tapir, on the hind (three-toed) and front (four-toed) legs, the hooves are almost horse-like (they even look like microscopic details). There are also calluses on the legs located below the elbow joint, which are similar to horse chestnuts. The American tapir has a small mane around its neck. The upper lip, which is more mobile than that of a horse, is extended into a proboscis. Animals are born in the outfit in which, apparently, the ancestors of various animals walked: intermittent light stripes stretch from tail to head along the dark background of their skin. The legs are painted in the same way.

Tapirs are densely built animals with a stocky body, which is covered with thick, short, usually black or brown hair. The height of the male at the withers is on average 1.2 m, length - 1.8 m, while the total weight is up to 275 kg. Muzzle, including tapir nose and upper lip, extended into a small mobile proboscis, which is used to break off young shoots or leaves. The eyes are small, rounded ears stick out to the sides. rear - three-fingered, front - four-fingered, while the axis of the limb in both cases passes through the 3rd finger, which takes on the main load. Each toe ends in a small hoof. The tail is short, as if chopped off.

This is a fairly powerful animal, in honor of which the new ZIL "Tapir" was named. By the way, the car received a fairly elongated muzzle, reminiscent of the appearance of an animal.

Nutrition

The tapir is an animal that feeds on leaves. forest shrubs and aquatic plants. Tapirs dive well, swim, can stay under water for a very long time, and in case of danger they always look for salvation in it.

The black-backed tapir is a nocturnal, secretive animal that prefers to hide in dense rainforests. There are seasonal migrations - during the dry season they are found in the lowlands, while in the rainy season they are also found in mountainous areas. For example, in Sumatra, animals were observed at altitudes up to 1500 m in the mountains. Also, migrations can be associated with deteriorating forage conditions and forest fires; tapirs in Thailand during the dry season move from deciduous to evergreen forests. Increasingly, they began to meet on the edges, clearings and plantations.

reproduction

Tapir mating occurs throughout the year. Pregnancy lasts about 400 days, mostly 1 cub is born, but twins also occur. At the same time, in American animals, babies are distinguished by the presence of white spots and longitudinal stripes on dark brown skin. At the age of 6 months, this pattern begins to disappear, in the same year the color becomes completely adult - monophonic. Tapirs live for about 30 years.

It should be clarified that 3 species of this genus are represented in America, and only one in Asia. Tapir numbers have been greatly reduced everywhere due to clearing of forests for land and hunting for animals. All species are protected and, apart from the plain, are included in the Red Book.

plains tapir

This is a brownish-black species with white spots located on the chest, neck and throat. This type inhabits the forests of South America. Plain tapirs are mainly nocturnal. During the daytime, they retire to the thickets, but at night they go out in search of food. These animals are good at diving and swimming. In general, they are very cautious and shy, in case of the slightest threat they flee or try to hide in the water.

Plain tapirs, if necessary, defend themselves with the help of teeth, biting the attacker. If two individuals meet, then their behavior towards each other, as a rule, is aggressive. They mark their ranges with urine, and various shrill sounds resembling a whistle are used to communicate with relatives. They feed only on plants, preferring their softest parts. In addition to leaves, they consume buds, algae, fruits and branches. Tapir enemies include crocodiles, jaguars, and cougars.

mountain tapir

It is the smallest member of the genus. The mountain tapir is an animal found in the forests of Colombia and Ecuador. It differs from the plains by its blackish thick coat and the absence of a mane. This view in 1824-1827. during the research of the Colombian Andes, the French scientists Jean Baptiste Bussengo and Desiree Roulin described. They noted that this one had long hair, like a bear.

Mountain tapirs are loners, active at night, which during the day retire to the thickets of forests. They are excellent rock climbers who also know how to dive and swim, in addition, they are very willing to dig in the mud. But it should be noted that these are very timid animals, in case of a threat they often hide under water. These tapirs are also herbivores. They feed on branches, leaves and other parts of plants.

black-backed tapir

The black-backed tapir can be seen in the southeastern part of Asia, more precisely, in Thailand, in the southeastern region of Burma, and also on the neighboring islands. Its front part of the body, as well as the hind legs, are brownish-black in color, and the middle (from the shoulders to the base of the tail) is creamy white, as if covered with a saddlecloth (clothing). This is a vivid example of the so-called patronizing "dismembering" coloration, which perfectly disguises the animal on moonlit nights in the jungle, when all vegetable world is a black and white solid pattern.

Central American tapir

This is a large beast of a blackish-brown uniform color. It is found in the territory from Mexico to Panama. It is very similar in appearance to its relatives from South America, although it differs from them in structural details.

In the Central American tapir, the height at the withers reaches 120 cm, and the weight is 300 kg, the body length is 200 cm. With such indicators, it is considered not only the largest tapir of the New World, it is also the largest wild mammal in the American tropics. It is similar in appearance to the plains tapir, while, in addition to larger sizes, it has a shorter mane at the back of the head.

The black-backed tapir, which is also called the Malay tapir, is the largest and at the same time, perhaps, the most beautiful in its family, which includes, in addition to it, three more species - the plain tapir, the mountain tapir and the Central American tapir.

Unlike its relatives, the black-backed tapir lives in Asia, and more specifically in Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra), Thailand and Burma. The mass of adult animals is approximately 250-320 kg.

Black-backed tapirs live in tropical forests. It feeds on foliage, grass, aquatic plants, as well as twigs and fruits.
Tapirs usually mate in April-May. Females bring offspring, as a rule, every year. Pregnancy lasts approximately 390 days, after which one baby is born, which weighs approximately 10 kg.

The cubs of the black-backed tapir have a variegated striped-spotted color, which over time (about the 5th month) gradually transforms into the color characteristic of this species. At first glance, such a strange color of a black-backed tapir seems strange - a white saddle immediately catches the eye on a general dark background. However, in dense tropical thickets, even on a sunny day, tapir is not so easy to spot. Black-backed tapirs reach sexual maturity at about three years of age.

The tapir's eyesight is not very sharp, but he has an excellent sense of smell and good hearing. In general, the lifestyle of the black-backed tapir is not much different from its American relatives.

Today, this amazing animal is quite rare and protected by law. The good news is that black-backed tapirs breed well in captivity, in which they can live for about 30 years.

The nature of tapirs is peaceful and flexible. These animals are easily tamed, especially if they are raised by humans from infancy. Hand tapirs are very playful and love to follow their master like dogs.

scientific classification:
Detachment: equids (Perissodactyla)
Family: tapirs (Tapiridae)
View: black-backed tapir (lat. Tapirus indicus)

Tapirs live in Central America, South America and Southeast Asia. They belong to the order equids.

There are 4 species left in them: Mountain tapir, Plains tapir, Central American tapir - they all live in America, and Black-backed tapir, which lives in Asia.

Color from dark brown to dark brown and even black is inherent in American species. The black-backed color is more elegant, on the back and sides and belly of the animal there is a single large white spot.

The tips of the ears are painted with a thin white stripe. The skin is thick, durable with short hairs.All have a heavy body on short slender legs, an elongated head and a very short tail. On the muzzle are small eyes that are hard to see.

The ears are rounded and short, all hear well. The muzzle ends with a mobile small proboscis, at the end of which there is a patch. It has many sensitive whiskers (vibrissae) around it. The animal's sense of smell is excellent.

Body length from 1.7 to 2.3 meters, height at the withers from 1.8 to 2.2 m, weight from 150 to 320 kg. There are three toes on the hind legs, four on the front, and small hooves on all toes.

They eat plant foods - leaves, herbs, fruits and berries. Being in the water, they feed their body with algae. They are good at swimming, diving, running fast and jumping briskly.

They prefer night or twilight time of activity. They easily stand on their hind legs to get juicy foliage from the trees, using their animal ingenuity, they overcome barriers from fallen trees. He either crawls under the trunk, or jumps over it.

He has many enemies - this, and. Sensing trouble, the tapir flees, or hides in the water. If there is no way out, then it defends itself using its teeth. Man also contributed, hunting him for tasty meat.

In the mating season, males seek out females, calling them with a sharp whistle or cough. But the black-backed females, unlike the American ones, at the right time are looking for a partner themselves.

After a short joint walks of the couple, pregnancy occurs, which lasts about 13 months. One strong newborn is born, weighing from 5 to 10 kg (depending on the type of animal).

One of the unusual representatives of herbivorous mammals - tapir. Outwardly, he has some resemblance to a pig. It attracts an interesting nose in the form of a small proboscis and a friendly character in the animal.

Description and appearance features

Tapir is a member of the equine order. Translated from the language of the South American tribes means "fat", was nicknamed for his thick skin. A strong, elastic body in an individual with strong legs and a short tail. There are 4 fingers on the forelimbs, 3 on the hind limbs. The skin is covered with short dense hair. different colors, depending on the type.

On the head, the upper lip with the nose is elongated, ending in a heel with sensitive hairs. This forms a small proboscis, which helps in eating and in the study. surrounding area.

What is very important in case of poor eyesight of the animal. The average length of the body of a tapir is 2 meters, with a height at the withers within a meter. The length of the tail is 7-13 cm. The weight reaches 300 kg, while the females are always larger than the males.

tapir animal, which has peaceful traits, treats people well, so it is easy to tame it. Mammals are a little clumsy and slow, but in dangerous moments they run fast. Lovers to play and swim in the pond.

Kinds

Four species are best studied. Among them, only one lives in highlands. The fifth species was discovered more recently.

1. Central American tapir

Body length: 176-215 cm.

Height at the withers (height): 77-110 cm.

Weight: 180-250 kg.

Habitat: From the north of Mexico to Ecuador and Colombia.

Features: One of the rare and poorly studied species. Inhabits the humid tropics. Keeps close to water, excellent swimmer and diver.

Appearance: large mammal american forests. It has a small mane and a coat of dark brownish tones. The area of ​​the cheeks and neck is light gray.

Central American tapir

2. mountain tapir

Body length: 180 cm.

Height: 75-80cm.

Weight: 225-250 kg.

Habitat: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela.

Features: The smallest representative of tapirs. Lives in mountainous areas, rising to a height of up to 4000 meters, to lower border snow. Rare poorly studied species.

Appearance: Elastic body ends with a short tail. The limbs are slender and muscular, because the mountain tapir has to overcome rocky obstacles. The coat color varies from dark brown to black. The ends of the lips and ears are light in color.

mountain tapir

3.plains tapir

Body length: 198-202 cm.

Height: 120cm.

Weight: 300 kg.

Habitat: South America, from Colombia and Venezuela to Bolivia and Paraguay.

Features: The most famous and widespread species. Plain tapir leads a solitary lifestyle, inhabits wet rainforests. Females bring one cub, reddish-brown with spots and longitudinal stripes.

Appearance: Compact, sturdy animal with fairly strong limbs. Small straight, stiff mane. The coat color is black-brown on the back and brown on the legs, on the ventral and thoracic parts of the body. There is a light border on the ears.

plains tapir

4. black-backed tapir

Body length: 185-240 cm.

Height: 90-105cm.

Weight: 365 kg.

Habitat: South- East Asia(Thailand, southeast Burma, Mallaka Peninsula and neighboring islands).

Appearance: black-backed tapir attracts with unusual coloring. A grayish-white spot (saddlecloth) is formed in the back area, similar to a blanket. Other coats are dark, almost black. The ears are also edged with white. The coat is small, there is no mane on the back of the head. Thick skin on the head, up to 20-25 mm, is a good protector against predator bites.

black-backed tapir

5. Small black tapir

Body length: 130 cm.

Height: 90 cm.

Weight: 110 kg.

Habitat: inhabits the territory of the Amazon (Brazil, Colombia)

Features: Discovered quite recently with the help of camera traps. The female is larger than the male. The smallest and poorly studied species.

Appearance: Individuals with dark brown or dark gray hair. Females have a light spot on the lower part of the chin and neck.

Small black tapir

Habitat and lifestyle

One of the most ancient mammals. Now only 5 species have survived. Enemies of animals on land are jaguars, tigers, anacondas, bears, in the water - crocodiles. But the main threat comes from humans. Hunting reduces livestock, and deforestation reduces habitat.

Studying the question what continent does the tapir live on, it is worth noting that habitats have been significantly reduced. The main 4 species live in Central America and in warm areas. And the other is in the lands of Southeast Asia.

These mammals are lovers of wet, dense jungles, where there is a lot of lush vegetation. And there must be a pond or a river nearby, because they spend a lot of time in a pond, swim and dive with pleasure.

Animals are active in the evening and at night, so find a tapir very hard during the day. Mountain animals are awake during the day. In case of danger, they can switch to a nocturnal lifestyle. In the dry period or with the negative impact of humans on the habitat, animals migrate.

Tapirs run fast, can jump, crawl, because they have to move in difficult forests with fallen trees or along mountain slopes. Favorite pastime is swimming in ponds with diving. And some individuals can eat algae underwater.

Mexican tapir

Tapirs in the plains live alone and when they meet they often show aggressive temper. Animals mark their territory, therefore they are hostile to strangers. They communicate with each other with sharp, piercing sounds similar to a whistle. When frightened, they flee, extremely rarely they can bite.

Nutrition

rich vegetation moist forests is the main food source. The diet of a tapir includes leaves of trees, shrubs or young palms, shoots, fallen fruits. Lovers of swimming and diving in the pond, they can eat algae from the bottom.

Due to the fact that the territories of residence are shrinking, animals cannot always find tasty fruits. They attack farmland, gnaw at cocoa growth, destroy sugar cane, mango, melon. This damages plantations. And the owners are taking drastic measures by shooting tapirs.

Tapirs love to eat leaves and tree branches.

The favorite delicacy of mammals is salt. Therefore, for her sake, they travel long distances. High density of herbivores in the lowlands of Paraguay. Here the land is rich in sulfuric and hydrochloric soda, and animals lick the ground with pleasure. They also fill the need for trace elements by using chalk and clay.

Captive tapir inhabits in closed paddocks with a size of at least 20 m² and always with a pond. They eat the same food as pigs: vegetables, fruits, grass, combined feed. Due to lack sunlight, respectively, vitamin D, the animal may lag behind in growth and development. Therefore, vitamins and minerals are added to the feed. A delicacy, of course, will be sweet fruits, sugar, crackers.

Reproduction and lifespan

Puberty individuals comes to 3-4 years. The female is larger than the male by almost 100 kg, and outwardly they do not differ in color. Tapir mating takes place throughout the year and the initiator of these relationships is the female. The process of copulation takes place not only on land, but also in water.

During mating games the male runs after the female for a long time and makes grunting sounds similar to whistling or screeching. Sexual partners do not differ in fidelity; every year the female changes the male. The pregnancy of tapirs lasts a little over a year, almost 14 months.

Mountain tapir baby

As a result, a cub is born, often one. The average weight of a baby is 4-8 kg (varies, depends on the species diversity of animals). Little tapir in the photo color is different from the mother. The coat has spots and dotted stripes. This view helps to hide in a dense forest. Over time, after six months, this coloring disappears.

For the first week, the baby and mother hide under the cover of shrubs. Mother feeds milk, lying on the ground. And already with next week the cub follows her in search of food. Gradually, the female accustoms the baby to plant foods.

Breastfeeding ends after one year. By 1.5 years, the cubs reach the size of adults, and puberty occurs by 3-4 years. On average at good conditions tapirs live for about 30 years. Even in captivity, they can reach this age.

Poaching for meat, dense skins and deforestation in habitats have a tragic effect on the population. Uncontrolled extermination of tapirs reduces the population of animals and leads to the extinction of species.