The
Malayan Tapir (
Tapirus indicus), also called the
Asian Tapir, is the largest of the four species of
tapirA tapir is a large browsing mammal, roughly pig-like in shape, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs, being the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir and the...
and the only one native to
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
. The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species' natural habitat. In the
Malay languageMalay is a group of languages closely related to each other to the point of mutual intelligibility but that linguists consider to be separate languages. They are grouped into a group called "Local Malay", part of a larger group called "Malayan" within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the...
, the tapir is commonly referred to as "cipan", "tenuk" or "badak tampong".
The animal is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored “saddle” which extends from its shoulders to its rump.
The
Malayan Tapir (
Tapirus indicus), also called the
Asian Tapir, is the largest of the four species of
tapirA tapir is a large browsing mammal, roughly pig-like in shape, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs, being the Brazilian tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir and the...
and the only one native to
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
. The scientific name refers to the East Indies, the species' natural habitat. In the
Malay languageMalay is a group of languages closely related to each other to the point of mutual intelligibility but that linguists consider to be separate languages. They are grouped into a group called "Local Malay", part of a larger group called "Malayan" within the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the...
, the tapir is commonly referred to as "cipan", "tenuk" or "badak tampong".
General appearance and characteristics
The animal is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored “saddle” which extends from its shoulders to its rump. The rest of its hair is black, except for the tips of its ears which, as with other tapirs, are rimmed with white. This pattern is for
camouflageCamouflage is a method of crypsis that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception. Examples include a tiger's stripes and the battledress of a modern soldier...
: the disrupted coloration makes it more difficult to recognize it as a tapir, and other animals may mistake it for a large rock rather than a form of prey when it is lying down to sleep.
Malayan Tapirs grow to between 6 and 8 feet (1.8 to 2.4 m) in length, stand 3 to 3.5 feet (90 to 107 cm) tall, and typically weigh between 550 and 700 pounds (250 to 320 kg), although they can weigh up to 1,100 pounds (500 kg). The females are usually larger than the males. Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible
proboscisIn general, a proboscis is an elongated appendage from the head of an animal, either a vertebrate or an invertebrate..-Etymology:...
es. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot. The Malayan Tapir has rather poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell.
Skeletal System
The tapir has bone structure similar to all other mammals, they have the essentials of the mammalian skeleton; a skull, a spinal cord made of vertebrae that hold the ribcage, which encases major organs, four limbs, and a tail. They have a spinal column composed of small bones with aligned holes in the center that form a protected tube that houses and protects their spinal cord. The spinal cord is divided into five regions, the cervical vertebrae, the thoracic vertebrae, the lumbar vertebrae, the sacral vertebrae, and the caudal vertebrae. The cervical vertebrae support the neck, and the first vertebrate is called the atlas. The atlas has two depressions which correspond with the two bumps at the bottom of the skull called the occipital condyles. The second vertebrae is called axis. The next region of the spinal cord is called the thoracic vertebrae, and these are the vertebrae from which the ribs extend out, forming the ribcage. The lumbar vertebrae are the vertebrates that go from the end of the ribs to the back legs, and the sacral vertebrae are the vertebrates that support the pelvic girdle. The caudal vertebrae are the bones of the tail, which although hold some nerves and blood vessels, does not hold the spinal column, as it ends just before the caudal vertebrae. What makes the skeleton of the tapir so unique to that of other mammals is their skull. They have a large sagittal crest, a bone running along the middle of the skull that is necessary for muscle attachment. They also have unusually positioned orbits, an unusually shaped cranium with the frontal bones elevated, and a retracted nasal incision. All of these modifications to the normal mammal skull are, of course, to make room for the proboscis to sit. This proboscis caused retraction of bones and cartilage in the face during the evolution of the tapir, and even caused the loss of some cartilages, facial muscles, and the bony wall of the nasal chamber.
Visual
The Malayan tapir has very poor eyesight, and making them rely greatly on their excellent sense of smell and hearing to go about in their everyday lives. The Malayan tapir has small, beady eyes with brown irises on either side of their face. Their eyes are often covered in a blue haze, which is corneal cloudiness thought to be caused by repetitive exposure to light. Corneal cloudiness is when the cornea starts to lose its transparency. The cornea is necessary for the transmitting and focusing of outside light as it enters the eye, and when it clouds it can cause vision loss. This causes the Malayan tapir to have very inadequate vision, both on land and in water, a place where they spend the majority of their time. Also, as the tapir is most active at night and since they have poor eyesight, it makes it harder for them to search for food and avoid predators in the dark.
Lifecycle
The
gestationGestation is the carrying of an embryo or fetus inside a female viviparous animal. Mammals duringpregnancy can have one or more gestations at the same time ....
period of the Malayan Tapir is approximately 390-395 days, after which a single offspring, weighing around 15 pounds (6.8 kg), is born. Malayan Tapirs are the largest of the four tapir species at birth and grow more quickly than their
congenerA congener has several different meanings depending on the field in which it is used. Colloquially, it is used to mean a person or thing like another, in character or action.-Biology:...
s. Young tapirs of all species have brown hair with white stripes and spots, a pattern which enables them to hide effectively in the dappled light of the forest. This baby coat fades into adult coloration between four and seven months after birth.
WeaningWeaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk.The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk...
occurs between six and eight months of age, at which time the babies are nearly full-grown, and the animals reach
sexual maturitySexual maturity is the age or stage when an organism can reproduce. It is sometimes considered synonymous with adulthood, though the two are distinct...
around age three. Breeding typically occurs in April, May or June, and females generally produce one calf every two years. Malayan Tapirs can live up to 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity.
Behavior
Malayan Tapirs are primarily solitary creatures, marking out large tracts of land as their
territoryIn ethology, sociobiology and behavioral ecology, the term territory refers to any sociographical area that an animal of a particular species consistently defends against conspecifics...
, though these areas usually overlap with those of other individuals. Tapirs mark out their territories by spraying
urineUrine is a liquid waste product of the body secreted by the kidneys by a process of filtration from blood called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous waste compounds, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
on plants, and they often follow distinct paths which they have bulldozed through the undergrowth.
Exclusively vegetarian, the animal forages for the tender shoots and leaves of more than 115 species of plants (around 30 are particularly preferred), moving slowly through the forest and pausing often to eat and note the scents left behind by other tapirs in the area. However, when threatened or frightened, the tapir can run quickly, despite its considerable bulk, and they can also defend themselves with their strong jaws and sharp teeth. Malayan Tapirs communicate with high-pitched squeaks and whistles. They usually prefer to live near water and often bathe and swim, and they are also able to climb steep slopes. Tapirs are mainly active at night, though they are not exclusively nocturnal. They tend to eat soon after sunset or before sunrise, and they will often nap in the middle of the night. This type of behavior characterizes them as
crepuscularCrepuscular is a term used to describe some animals that are primarily active during twilight, that is at dawn and at dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is thus in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be...
animals.
Habitat, predation, and vulnerability
The Malayan Tapir was once found throughout the tropical lowland
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...
s of
Southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
, including
CambodiaThe Kingdom of Cambodia , formerly known as Kampuchea , is a country in South East Asia with a population of over 14 million people. The kingdom's capital and largest city is Phnom Penh...
,
IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
,
LaosLaos , officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
,
MalaysiaMalaysia is a country in Southeast Asia that consists of thirteen states and three Federal Territories, with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population stands at over 28 million inhabitants...
,
MyanmarBurma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia or Indochina. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the...
(Burma),
ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
, and
VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
. However, its numbers have decreased in recent years, and today, like all tapirs, it is in danger of
extinctionIn biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or group of taxa. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of that species...
.
Because of their size, tapirs have few natural predators, and even reports of killings by tigers are scarce. The main threat to the Malayan tapirs is human activity, including
deforestationDeforestation is the clearance of naturally occurring forests by the processes of logging and/or burning of trees in a forested area. There are several reasons deforestation occurs: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and used by humans, while cleared land is used as pasture,...
for agricultural purposes, flooding caused by the damming of rivers for hydroelectric projects, and illegal trade. In Thailand, for instance, capture and sale of a young tapir may be worth US$5500.00. In areas such as Sumatra, where the population is predominantly
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
, tapirs are seldom hunted for food, as their physical similarity to pigs has made tapir meat a taboo, but in some regions they are hunted for sport or shot accidentally when mistaken for other animals. Protected status in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, which seeks to curb deliberate killing of tapirs but does not address the issue of habitat loss, has had limited effect in reviving or maintaining the population.
Brevetianus variation
A small number of
melanisticMelanism is the occurrence of an increased amount of dark pigmentation in an organism, resulting from the presence of melanin...
(all-black) Malayan tapirs have been observed. In 1924, an all-black tapir was sent to
RotterdamRotterdam ; city and municipality in the Dutch province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the second largest in the country, with a population of 584,046 as of January 2007...
Zoo and was classified as a subspecies called
Tapirus indicus brevetianus after its discoverer Captain K. Brevet. In 2000, two melanistic tapirs were observed during a study of tigers in the Jerangau Forest Reserve in Malaysia. The cause of this variation may be a genetic abnormality similar to that of
black pantherA black panther is a large black cat. Black panthers are color variants of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America reported black panthers may be black jaguars or possibly black...
s that appear in populations of spotted jaguars. However, unless and until more
brevetianus individuals can be studied, the precise explanation for the trait will remain unknown.
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