There are four species living in the American and Malaysian tropics. Their survival is in danger because of destruction of the forests.
Tapirs have thick, hairy, black skin, short tails, and short trunks.
They are vegetarian, harmless, and shy. They are related to the rhinoceros , and slightly more distantly to the horse. The Malaysian tapir T. indicus is black with a large white patch on the back and hindquarters. Baird's tapir T. bairdii is rare and found only in Central America. It is mainly solitary except when breeding.