Physical Features
Baird’s Tapirs may stand four feet tall at shoulder length. Baird’s Tapirs average up to 6.6 feet in length and 3.9 ft. in height, and adults weigh 180–880 lb. Baird’s Tapir has a unique cream-colored marking on its face and throat with a dark spot on each cheek. The same dark spot is also behind and below the eye. The rest of its hair is dark brown or grayish-brown. Young Baird’s Tapirs have a pattern of yellow or white stripes and spots that look like watermelon stripes. Also Baird’s Tapirs have a big body structure. Baird’s Tapirs have three hoof-like nails in their back feet and four in their front feet, the fourth nail is less developed and does not touch the ground. The tapir’s digestive system is made of a small gut, a well-developed cecum and colon, and has no gallbladder. The Baird’s Tapir is the largest land animal in found in the wild from Mexico to South America. Baird’s Tapir have prehensile (having a strong grasp) noses and are expert swimmers, using their long noses as snorkels. ‘Some people say that Baird’s Tapirs where pigs that tried to be an elephants but couldn’t’. The thing that is most interesting about the Baird’s Tapir is its unique nose. The Baird’s Tapirs nose and upper lip are combined into a ‘flexible’ snout that is prehensile. A tapir can be either diurnal (be awake in the day) or nocturnal (be awake at night), although in areas where they are around humans, most of their activity occurs during the night.
Facts
When they are alarmed, they run for the nearest pond, river, or lake and dive in and then swim beneath the surface using their long noses to breathe. They are herbivores and eat fallen fruit, leaves and other plants. The tapirs also enjoy banana popsicles and greens such as bamboo, mulberry a type of berry that grows on trees and can be red or black), privet (a bush or shrub that have leaves the tapir eats), and palm leaves. Thick skin and a short spiky mane provide this tapir with some protection from jaguar’s bites. The animal communicates with squeaky whistles to warn others to stay away from its territory or to communicate with its offspring.
Unique Facts
Several countries have issued stamps presenting the tapir on them. Brittish Honduras issued a $0.02 cent stamp between 1953 and 1962. Vietnam also printed a series of four stamps all featuring the tapir. Malaysia listed a Tapirus Indicus $2.00 stamp in 1987. Costa Rica issued a $0.10 stamp of Tapirella Bairdii. Nicaragua issued a $0.25 stamp also with the Tapirus Bairdii in 1984. The State of North Borneo (Chinese) issued a $0.01 stamp in 1963. Baird's Tapir was named for the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird who traveled to Mexico in 1843 to watch the animals. Another fact is Baird's Tapirs are the national animal of Belize. The Baird’s Tapir is called a lot of different local names. People in all areas call it “Danta”. In the regions around Oaxaca and Veracruz, it is referred to as the “Anteburro”. Panamanians and Colombians call it “Macho de Monte”, and in Belize they call it “The Mountain Cow”. In Mexico it is called “Tzemen in Tzeltal”; Lacandon it is called “Cash-i-tzimin” (means “jungle horse”); in Tojolab'al it is called “Niguanchan” (meaning “big animal”). In Panama, the people of Kunas call Baird’s Tapir “Moli”.
Characteristic Features
They are very energetic and can run up and down steep slopes easily. Tapirs are usually behaved animals, wanting the company of itself rather than other tapirs. Their eyesight is very bad, but their other senses are extremely good such as: hearing, and smell. They are easily scared, and because of that it is very difficult to see in the wild. Even though the Baird’s Tapir might not be the most beautiful animal in the rainforest, it still plays an important role in the rainforest ecosystem. For centuries, tapirs have been hunted for their meat (which is like wild pig or boar meat). Tapirs are also greatly affected by
