Mountain tapirs live in the high northern Andes, in the paramos and cloud forests of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia.
Mountain tapirs are the smallest of the four species of tapir.
They have thin skin with thick fur, including a thick undercoat. The undercoat and long-haired outer coat protect mountain tapirs from cool night temperatures, which can sometimes reach freezing points. They possess reddish-brown to black fur that is about an inch in length. They are normally 1.8 meters in length and reach a height of about 0.9 meters. White lips and ear tips are two other notable characteristics of mountain tapirs.