Tapir illustration © Bruce Pearson from the Collins Guide to Rare Mammals of the World.

Lowland Tapir Tapirus terrestris

Tapirs are huge, dark brown land mammals, with young that are stripy. They prefer to live in woodlands and grasslands with plenty of water and are very good swimmers and divers. They emerge at night to graze and browse on a variety of plants and they particularly like fruits.

Tapirs are very important to the indigenous people and feature in their myths, legends and religions. The Piaroas Indians of South America for example do not kill the tapir, because they believe them to be "a sacred animal in which their ancestors are reincarnated".

Tapir image courtesy of www.uga.edu. See a larger image. (Use your back button to return here.)

Tapirs are found from Venezuela to northern Argentina. They have been hunted for meat and, despite legal protection, this continues in many parts of its range today. Hunting along with the destruction of its habitat has lead to local extinctions and they are now considered Vulnerable by the IUCN. (See IUCN Red List of Threatened Species for more information on the classification of the Tapir.)

Help Protect Tapirs and Other South American Wildlife

The Tapir is found in the following WLT project areas:

• Lowland Tropical Forests in Ecuador;
• Atlantic Rainforest in Argentina;
• Atlantic Rainforest in Paraguay;
• Tropical Forest in Belize;
• Dry Chaco and Chaco-Pantanal in Paraguay.

Help protect Tapir habitat by suppoting WLT projects.

More Information about Lowland Tapirs and Their Habitat

• Learn about World Land Trust's reserves in Ecuador, Belize, Paraguay and Argentina
• Find more information on the Lowland Tapir on ARKive: Images of life on Earth