Malayan Tapir

The **Malayan tapir** resembles a black and white pig with an extended snout. The largest of the four species of tapir and the only one native to Asia., it can weigh 540 kilograms (1,200 pounds) and on average grows to a height of one meter at the shoulder and is 1.8 to 2.4 meters length, excluding its stubby fiver to 10 centimeter tail. They typically weigh between 250 and 320 kilograms (550 and 710 pounds). Females are usually larger than males. About the size of a donkey, the tapir is related to the horse and rhinoceros. The Malayan tapir is the only tapir species found in the Old World. The three other tapir species live in the jungles of Central and South America and Southeast Asia.

## Description

They differ from their Latin American cousins chiefly in their color. The front part of the body and the hind legs of adults are black while the rear half is greyish white. The strange white piebald coloration on the back and stomach is said to help conceal the animal in the forest by breaking up its outline. Some say that other animals may mistake it for a large rock rather than prey when it is lying down to sleep. Baby Malayan tapirs have black and white stripes and spots.

## Range and Habitat

Malayan tapirs are not only found in Malaysia it is also found in Sumatra to the south and Thailand and Burma to the north. Until quite recently it also lived in Borneo and were found I Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. The Malayan tapir lives primarily in primary tropical forests and is a solitary creature that marks out large tracts of land as its territory, though this area usually overlaps with those of other individuals. Tapirs mark out their territories by spraying urine on plants, and they often follow distinct paths which they have bulldozed through the undergrowth. Tapirs often exhibit the flehmen response, a posture in which they raise their snouts and show their teeth to detect scents. This response is frequently exhibited by bulls sniffing for signs of other males or females in oestrus in the area. The animal has very poor eyesight. It relies mainly on its excellent sense of smell and hearing to go about in forest.

## Behavior

Moving slowly through the forest and pausing often to eat and note the scents left behind by other tapirs in the area. When threatened or frightened, the tapir can run quickly, despite its considerable bulk, and can also defend itself with its strong jaws and sharp teeth. Malayan tapirs communicate with high-pitched squeaks and whistles. They usually prefer to live near water and often bathe and swim, and they are also able to climb steep slopes. Tapirs are mainly active at night, though they are not exclusively nocturnal. They tend to eat soon after sunset or before sunrise, and they will often nap in the middle of the night. This behavior characterizes them as crepuscular animals.

### **Diet**

The tapir is exclusively herbivorous. It and eats grass, fruit and nuts but mainly forages tender shoots and leaves of more than 115 species of plants (around 30 are particularly preferred).

## Reproduction

The gestation period of the Malayan tapir is about 390 to 395 days, after which a single offspring is born. Babies weigh seven kilograms at birth and reach a weight of 50 kilograms at one month. Weaning occurs between six and eight months of age, at which time the babies are nearly full-grown, and the animals reach sexual maturity around age three. Breeding typically occurs in April, May or June, and females generally produce one calf every two years. Malayan tapirs can live up to 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity.

## Predators

Because of their size, tapirs have few natural predators. Reports of killings by tigers are scarce, but the main threat to the Malayan tapirs is human activity, including deforestation for agricultural purposes, flooding caused by the damming of rivers for hydroelectric projects, and illegal trade. In Thailand, for instance, capture and sale of a young tapir may be worth $5500.00. In predominantly-Muslim Malaysia and Sumatra the are seldom hunted for food because of their resemblance to pigs and the Muslim taboo on eating pork. In some regions they are hunted for sport or shot accidentally when mistaken for other animals. The tapir's timid, quiet nature is believed to be one reason it has avoided extinction.

## Gallery

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