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.