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 Tapirs
are herbivores or plant eaters. More specifically they are selective
browsers, which means they prefer only the young leaves and growing
branches of a few plant species. At the zoo they are fed a commercially
prepared herbivore pellet, as well as apples, carrots, greens,
grass hay and alfalfa. They also enjoy getting fresh browse.
One of their favorite treats is banana. Keepers offer these treats
as enrichment.
By hiding small pieces of banana at various places in the exhibit,
keepers make the tapirs put those cool noses to work! Sometimes
banana extract is used so that the tapirs don't get too many sweets.
Another way keepers offer enrichment for the tapirs is to throw
pieces of apple in their exhibit pool.
Tapirs love to spend time in water. Our tapirs usually go
into the exhibit pool a few times each day. Tapirs are excellent
swimmers but also submerge and walk on the bottom, much like
a hippopotamus! In the wild tapirs may seek refuge in the water
if alarmed.
Tapirs have poor eyesight so they rely mainly on their senses
of smell and hearing. In addition to relying on their keen sense
of smell to alert them to the presence of potential predators,
Malayan tapirs avoid being active at the same time as their natural
enemies. Their main predator in the wild is the tiger. Tapirs
also avoid detection by their enemies with camouflage. The Malayan
tapir's coloration of a black body with a silver-white saddle
from the shoulders to the rump breaks up the outline of its eight-foot
long body making it almost invisible in the dimly lit forest.
Baby tapirs do not have the same coloration as adults. Young
tapirs are dark brown/black with alternating bands of white stripes
and spots and weigh about 20 pounds. They basically look like
a banded watermelon on legs.
The 2000 IUCN Redlist classifies Malayan tapirs as vulnerable.
Forest conversion to agriculture is the most serious threat to
the Malayan tapir.
More about tapirs
In-depth tapir information (size, range
in the wild, etc.)
You can find additional information on tapirs and their conservation
at www.tapirback.com.
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