The
Malayan tapir (
Tapirus indicus), also called the
Asian tapir,
Asiatic tapir,
Oriental tapir,
Indian tapir, or
piebald tapir, is the largest of the four widely-recognized species of
tapir and the only one native to
Asia.
[3] The scientific name refers to the
East Indies, the species' natural
habitat. In the
Malay language, the tapir is commonly referred to as
cipan,
tenuk or
badak tampung.
[4]
General appearance and characteristics
The
animal is easily identified by its markings, most notably the
light-colored patch that extends from its shoulders to its rear end. 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
camouflage;
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
prey when it is lying down to sleep.
[5]
Malayan tapirs grow to between 1.8 and 2.5 m (5 ft 11 in and 8 ft
2 in) in length, not counting a stubby tail of only 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to
3.9 in) in length, and stand 90 to 110 cm (2 ft 11 in to 3 ft 7 in)
tall. They typically weigh between 250 and 320 kg (550 and 710 lb),
although some adults can weigh up to 540 kg (1,190 lb).
[6][7][8][9] The females are usually larger than the males. Like the other types of tapir, they have small, stubby tails and long, flexible
proboscises.
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.
Underside of front (left) and back (right) hooves of the Malayan tapir
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. This proboscis caused a 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.
Vision
Malayan
tapirs have very poor eyesight, making them rely greatly on their
excellent sense of smell and hearing to go about in their everyday
lives. They have small, beady eyes with brown irises on either side of
their faces. 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 a condition in which 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 cloudiness can cause vision
loss. This causes the Malayan tapir to have very inadequate vision, both
on land and in water, where they spend the majority of their time.
Also, as these tapirs are most active at night and since they have poor
eyesight, it is harder for them to search for food and avoid predators
in the dark.
[10][11]
T. i. brevetianus variation
A small number of
melanistic (all-black) Malayan tapirs have been observed. In 1924, an all-black tapir was sent to
Rotterdam Zoo and was classified as a subspecies called
Tapirus indicus brevetianus after its discoverer, Captain K. Brevet.
[12] In 2000, two melanistic tapirs were observed during a study of tigers in the Jerangau Forest Reserve in Malaysia.
[13] The cause of this variation may be a genetic abnormality similar to that of
black panthers that appear in populations of spotted leopards or spotted jaguars. However, unless, and until, more
T. i. brevetianus individuals can be studied, the precise explanation for the trait will remain unknown.
Lifecycle
A juvenile tapir, still with dappled markings, asleep
The
gestation
period of the Malayan tapir is about 390–395 days, after which a single
offspring, weighing around 15 pounds (6.8 kg), is born. Malayan tapirs
are the largest of the five tapir species at birth and grow more quickly
than their
congeners.
[14]
Young tapirs of all species have brown hair with white stripes and
spots, a pattern that 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.
Weaning occurs between six and eight months of age, at which time the babies are nearly full-grown, and the animals reach
sexual maturity 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.
Behaviour
Malayan tapirs are primarily solitary creatures, marking out large tracts of land as their
territory, though these areas usually overlap with those of other individuals. Tapirs mark out their territories by
spraying urine on plants, and they often follow distinct paths, which they have bulldozed through the undergrowth.
[citation needed]
Exclusively
herbivorous,
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.
[4]
However, when threatened or frightened, the tapir can run quickly,
despite its considerable bulk, and can also defend itself with its
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 behavior characterizes them
as
crepuscular animals.
Habitat, predation, and vulnerability
Map of Malayan tapir distribution in the wild, data circa 2003
The Malayan tapir was once found throughout the tropical lowland
rainforests of
Southeast Asia, including
Cambodia,
Indonesia,
Laos,
Malaysia,
Myanmar (
Burma),
Thailand, and
Vietnam. However, its numbers have decreased in recent years, and today, like all tapirs, it is in danger of
extinction.
[1]
Because of their size, tapirs have few natural predators, and even reports of killings by
tigers are scarce.
[15] The main threat to the Malayan tapirs is human activity, including
deforestation for agricultural purposes, flooding caused by the damming of rivers for hydroelectric projects, and illegal trade.
[16] In Thailand, for instance, capture and sale of a young tapir may be worth US$5500.00.
[15] In areas such as Sumatra, where the population is predominantly
Muslim,
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.
[17]
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.
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