Home > Mountain Tapir

The mountain tapir ( Tapirus pinchaque) is the smallest of the four species of tapir and is the only one to live outside of tropical

The mountain tapir is referred to as Sacha Huagra by Quechua speakers, danta cordillerana (cordilleran tapir) and danta lanuda (woolly tapir) by Spanish-speakers in Colombia, danta negra (black tapir) by Spanish-speaking

(large beast) by Spanish-speaking Peruvians.

The species name comes from the term "La Pinchaque", an imaginary beast said to inhabit the same regions as the mountain tapir.

1 General Appearance and Characteristics

The mountain tapir is most easily recognized by its wooly coat (it is sometimes referred to as the wooly tapir) and its white lower lip. Mountain tapirs may have greyish-black or brown coats, often depending on where they live, and often the hair around their cheeks is lighter.

Adults are usually around 1.8 meters (6 feet) in length and 0.75 to 1 meter (2.5 to 3 feet) in height. They typically weigh between 150 and 225 kilograms (325 to 500 pounds). The females are more often larger than the males, but usually the sexes are indistinguishable by size. Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.

2 Life Cycle

The gestation period of the mountain tapir is approximately 400 days, after which a single offspring is born. It is very rare for more than one young to be born at once. The baby mountain tapir weighs about 7 kilograms (15 pounds) and, like all species of tapir, has a reddish-brown coat with white spots and stripes. However, like the adults of their species, baby mountain tapirs have wooly fur to help keep them warm. The immature coloration fades after about a year, around the time when the young animal is weaned. Mountain tapirs reach sexual maturity at age three and can live up to 30 years.

3 Behavior

When around other members of their species, mountain tapirs communicate through high-pitched whistles, and the males occasionally fight over estrous females by trying to bite each other’s rear legs. But for the most part, mountain tapirs are shy and lead solitary lives, spending their waking hours foraging for food on their own along well-worn tapir paths. Despite their bulk, they travel easily through dense foliage, up the steep slopes of their hilly habitat, and in water, where they often wallow and swim. The mountain tapir is primarily active from sundown to sunup when it forages for tender plants to eat, and it sleeps for much of the day. When trying to access high plants, it will sometimes rear up on its hind legs to reach and then grab with its prehensilePrehensile is an adjective referring to a body part adapted for grasping or holding. Examples of prehensility include the tails of monkeys and opossums, the penises of dolphins, the trunks of elephants, and the proboscises of tapirs. The word is derived f snout. It also seeks out natural salt lick s to satisfy its need for essential mineralMinerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. The term "mineral" encompasses not only the material's chemical composition but also the mineral structures. Minerals range in composition from pure elements and simple salts to very comps. Though its eyesight is lacking, the mountain tapir gets by with its keen senses of smell and taste, as well as the sensitive bristles on its proboscis.

Male mountain tapirs will frequently mark their territory with dungDung can refer to: a synonym of faeces Dung, Doubs, a commune in the Doubs departement of France. piles, urine, and rubbings on trees, and females will sometimes engage in these behaviors as well. The territories of individuals usually overlap, with each animal claiminging over 8 square kilometers (3 square miles).