| Tapirs |
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| http://www.raincityhistory.com/index.php/weblog/2004/01 |
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| Click on image to go to www.ultimateungulate.com |
| The Tapir The tapir is endangered. Many people have hunted it for meat, sport, or money. In Asia, people sell the meat for food. Diet Tapirs are herbivores, eating mostly plants, leaves, fruit, shrubs, and twigs. They do not eat meat because they are herbivores. Age Tapirs live for about 30 years. About 3 times as long as a cat. Weight Males are actually lighter than females, which may seem odd. Males ussually weigh somewhere around 600 pounds, and females, 800. Habitat and Range rain forests near rivers or marshes, where there is lush vegetation. The tapir ranges from high mountains to lowland. What does it look like? The tapir is related to the horse and rhinosceris rather than the pig! Tapirs are born with brown skin and white stripes and spots. They go away after about a year. Adult tapirs are ussually redish brown eith sparse hair scattered all along the body, except for the neck, where a thick mane of coarse hair is located. Reproduction Female tapirs can have babies when they are three to four years old; males can have them after 5 years. Breeding happens year round, because females go into heat every two to three months. The tapir gives birth after about 180 days and gives birth to one live young. The baby stays with the mother for about 2 years. |
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| Mountain Tapir |
| Baby Tapir |