Specie's Page                                               South America - Tapir

South American Tapir:  

UK Status: Non resident, can be seen however in wildlife parks and zoological gardens and parks.

Habitat: This Tapir can be found in the Amazon Rain Forest, and its river basin. Distribution is to the east of the Andes Mountain range, in the north it is present in Venezuela, Columbia and the Guiana's. In the west this tapir is found in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and in the west, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. It typical habitat is rain forest with areas of savannah.

Breeding: This animal feeds on palm leaves and their seeds, other than that nothing much is known about what else they may eat. They breed and mate from April through into June. Gestation lasts for about three hundred and ninety five days.

Comment: This Tapir is also known as the Brazilian Tapir, and as Baird's Tapir, and is the largest surviving mammal in the Amazon. These animals live from twenty five to thirty years of age. They are endangered from habitat loss, and from poaching for their meat and hide.