Tapir For More Information Trivia Quiz

Answer: Malayan tapir

The only species of tapir that lives in the wild in Asia is the Malayan tapir, which lives primarily in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is also known as the Asian tapir. The Malayan tapir is also sometimes called a cipan or a tenuk. Adult Malayan tapirs have a black front half and a white front half.

Answer: Crocodile and Jaguar

Only crocodiles and jaguars are brave enough to attempt to eat a Baird's tapir. Oftentimes, the Baird's tapir wins. Its size - a maximum weight of 880 pounds and 12 feet in length - protects it from most predators. In national parks across Central and South America, there are many Baird's tapirs who survived attacks with claw marks and bite marks in their pelt. Smaller species of tapir may also be preyed upon by anacondas and often survive those attacks too.

Answer: False

Tapirs, despite being odd-toed ungulates, have four toes on their front feet and three toes on their back feet. This allows them to walk on soft ground and is an adaptation tapirs did not always have. Other animals in the odd-toed ungulates order are rhinos and horses. Horses have their toe covered by a hoof, whereas the toes of tapirs and rhinos are only partially covered by hooves.

Answer: Short and stubby

Tapirs have very short tails that can barely be seen. All tapirs also have huge rumps, white ears and splayed toes. In appearance, tapirs look more like tuskless warthogs than their closest relatives, horses and rhinos.

Answer: Air pollution

The air in the Andes Mountains, where the mountain tapir lives in the wild, is relatively clean. The main problem facing the mountain tapir is the lack of genetic diversity. Of the roughly 2,500 mountain tapirs living in the wild in 2014, all came from just two ancestors. This is also true of the very few mountain tapirs held in captivity and makes breeding a problem.

Other problems include the fact that tapirs are sometimes hunted for their meat and organs, the latter of which are used in tribal medicines and aphrodisiacs. Mountain tapirs love to eat crops meant for human consumption and, as a result, are often killed by farmers wanting to protect their harvests.

Answer: They are camouflaged

Baby tapirs are usually striped or spotted which helps shield them from predators. Adults do not have such camouflage patterns and their appearance varies depending on the species. Tapirs do not become sexually mature until about three to five years old. A tapir's diet consists of plants, fruits and berries. The Baird's tapir can eat up to 85 pounds of food per day.

Answer: Socializing with other tapirs

Tapirs are mostly antisocial animals. They spend very little time with other tapirs unless it is to mate or to raise young.

Tapirs can sink underwater and spend a lot of time there. They like to eat water plants because they are soft. They also cool down in the water and fish will sometimes clean the tapirs of parasites and other unwanted things. Tapirs wallow in mud to cool down just like pigs and hippos do. Tapirs also function well away from the water, especially the mountain tapir, such as forested lands with restricted water sources.

Answer: Mountain tapir

The mountain tapir is the second smallest of the living species of tapirs. It has a thick, woolly coat that is dark brown or black in color. The white fur around its lips is particularly noticeable and its purpose, if any, is unknown. The mountain tapir also has a large proboscis for a nose, longer than that of most other tapirs.

Answer: Vision

Tapirs have notoriously poor vision, caused by their cloudy eyes. How exactly a tapir's eyes become cloudy is unknown but it could be caused when the eyes are exposed to prolonged sunlight. Tapirs are primarily nocturnal animals, meaning they are more active at night. The rest of a tapir's sense are particularly strong, especially its hearing and smell.

Answer: True

Tapirs are heavy mammals with short legs and give the appearance that they would be slow runners. However, the opposite is true. Tapirs cannot run for long distances but can run quickly until they find protection from their few potential predators.