Lavlandstapir

The name tapir comes from a Brazilian word and refers to the thick skin.

In addition to the lowland tapir, there are three other tapir species. The Baird's tapir, which lives from Mexico to Ecuador, west of the Andes. The mountain tapir, which lives from Colombia to Peru and the creation tapir, which lives in Asia.

The tapir belongs to the so-called unpaired-toed ungulates like the horse and rhino. The lowland tapir has four toes on each foreleg, while each hind leg has three toes.

The lowland tapir usually lives alone and is mainly nocturnal. It travels through the rainforest on frequently used trails that it marks with urine. The tapir almost always stays near water or swamps, where it splashes around and rolls in mud to keep cool.

The Indians in the Amazon rainforest hunt the tapir for its meat and use its skin for leather, so if the tapir feels threatened, it will seek out the water. The lowland tapir is a good swimmer and can stay underwater for long periods of time.

This group of mammals is not thought to have changed significantly in the last 35 million years.

The tapir can also probe an area 30 centimetres in diameter with its proboscis without moving its head or the rest of its body.

• Distribution: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guinea, Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela
• Population: The lowland tapir is not directly threatened but in decline as its habitat is destroyed
• Weight: 180-250kg
• Height: 110 centimetres
• Body length: 215 centimetres
• Sexual maturity: From 2.5 years of age
• Gestation: 385-412 days
• Number of cubs: 1, rarely 2
• Food: Aquatic plants, twigs, leaves, grasses and fruits
• Life expectancy: Up to 30 years
• Latin name: Tapirus terrestris 

A built-in bike helmet

The tapir is powerfully built and has a unique head shape. This head shape is due to the fact that the tapir's skull has an extra reinforcement, almost like a built-in bicycle helmet. In this way, the tapir is well protected against blows from bushes, branches and other obstacles when running fast through the dense rainforest.

Tapir babies are born with bright stripes and spots that camouflage them perfectly when hiding from predators. The pattern in the coat gradually disappears during the first year of life, after which the tapir becomes a solid colour. The tapir also has a thick skin that makes it difficult for predators to get hold of the tapir.

Toilet in the river 

In the wild, tapirs defecate in the river so that the faeces are carried away with the river water, preventing predators from sniffing out the tapirs. That's why the tapirs at the zoo are given fresh water in the pool every day, but as they use the water as a toilet, it quickly becomes dirty again.

The tapir is almost always near water or marshy areas where it splashes around and rolls in mud to keep cool, and if the tapir feels threatened, it will seek out the water where its characteristic long nose can act as a snorkel to hide underwater.