2. Description
• They are dark brown in colour, paler in the
face.
• They have round dark ears and small, stubby
tails.
• They have hooves like horses.
• Body length: from 1.8 to 2.5m.
• Weight: between 150 to 320 kg.
• They have an acute sense of smell.
• Baby tapirs have spotted fur.
3. Habitat
• They live in Venezuela and Argentina.
• In Argentina: Misiones, Formosa, Chaco, a
small area of Corrientes, Salta and Jujuy.
• They live in the forest, near lakes and rivers.
4. Food
• Tapirs are herbivores.
• They eat: leaves, flowers, small branches,
fruit, roots, grasses and aquatic plants.
5. Why is it endangered?
• Men hunt them for their fur, their meat and
their hooves.
• Men destroy the forest.
• Their enemies are jaguars, pumas and
alligators.
6. What are people doing to help them?
• Hunting is prohibited by law and they cannot
be commercialized.
• Argentinean group Ex Situ of Tapirs added
microchips to find them and know if they are
in danger.
7. What are people doing to help them?
• Hunting is prohibited by law and they cannot
be commercialized.
• Argentinean group Ex Situ of Tapirs added
microchips to find them and know if they are
in danger.
