Tapir 

                                                            I. Introduction

In Amazonian the rain forest there is an animal that looks like a pig, it has a trunk. It is not a pig it is a horse and a rhino, it is called a tapir. I heard about this animal by reading a book called horses A through Z. It sounded very interesting and I wanted to learn about an animal that is related to a horse. One thing I learned is that there are six different types of tapirs. Though out my research I hope it will become one of my favorite animal.

                                                      II. Family Members 

Tapirs are in groups all the time, they must love their family. When you find a group of tapirs caring for each other , they are called a candle. The tapir family is related to the Tapiride. They are also related to the horses and rhinos. Candle is leaving! Got to go with the candle. Bye

                                                      III. Ain't I Cute

Look out for tapir waste while roaming around the rain forest floor. It looks like a pig, small cow, and a small elephant. There are six different types. First, there is the Mountain tapir or also known as the Wooly tapir. The adults are black with a brown nose. The babies are white with brown stripes. It is also the smallest tapir. Another tapir is the low land tapir. The adults are grey with a white chest. Babies are grey with brown stripes. Also there a tapir called Baird tapir. The adults are grey with white checks and chest. The babies are white with a little brown. Malay tapirs are a type of tapir too. Adults are black with a white behind and back. Babies are white with a little black. Second to last is the Tobler tapir. The adult is brown with a cinnamon color neck. The babies are black with a cinnamon color neck. The final tapir is the Miguelle tapir. Adults are white with a shade of grey on it's back. Babies are brown with a cinnamon color stripes. Tapirs are not very big their height at shoulder is twenty-nine to forty-two inches. Their wight is five hundred to eight hundred pounds.  

                                                          IV. Home Sweet Home

Tapirs live in the Amazon Rain Forest in South America. It does not generally migrate, except for the Malay tapir. It's range is forest and grass lands.

                                                          V. Time to Eat

Tapirs are herbivores that means they only eat vegetation. So, their diet is fruits, berries, leaves, shrubs, tender growth, buds, and twigs. They get their food by browsing, which means to take the trunk and grab leaves, twigs, and bushes. Just like elephants.

                                                        VI. Enemies

Tapirs have many enemies. The enemies are tigers, leopards, jaguars, pythons, and crocodiles. It seems very odd that the python is one of the enemies of the tapir.

                                                       VII. Self Defence

Tapirs have two ways to defend themselves. The first way is to use their sharp teeth . The other way is to run into the water so the animal can not get it. That is really cool how they defend themselves. Right?

                                                       VIII. Reproduction

Tapirs are very interesting. They reproduce in April and May, but every other year. Babies are born in thirteen  month  after they mated.. The young is called  a calf. Tapirs' life expenctancy is thirty years. Boy arn't you gald that  you are not a tapir.

                                                          IX. Friends or Not

 You have human friends right? Well tapirs do too. Some people try to help. They are  helping by making people aware of the chance of having the tapirs becoming extinct.  Then their are people that do not help.  They are the ones who will hunt the tapir for their hide or for food.  So be thankful you have a lot of nice human friends.

                                                           X. Who's Endangered

There are not many tapirs left. Scientist have not found the exact population, but all we know is that they are endangered. There endangered because they are hunted for food and their fur. They  can also not be found in Costa Rica.  Isn't that sad?

                                                         XI. Night, Night

Don't you sleep in a bed? Well tapirs don't. They often pick a cool spot and affords away to detect enemies. They seem to return to the same places and use them again. Beds are probably  a lot comfortable then the ground.

                                                       XII. Survival

You eat three main meals a day to stay alive, well tapirs only eat two. They feed in the early and late hours of the day to avoid the heat of the day. Tapirs like the water to keep cool. They are very smart to do that.

                                                       XIII. Habits

You know about human habits? How about we find out about the tapir? Tapir habits are very different. They all have similar basic body shape and short flexible proboscis nose. All tapirs prefer a wet climate and usually live near water. Tapirs are browsers and eat leaves, fruit, and berries. Theres some tremendous habits.

                                                       XIV. Me, Myself, and I

Your different, so are tapirs. They have four toes in the front of their feet and three toes in the back of their feet. They have a small trunk. Love to live in groups to help protect each other. It is rare to find a mother having twins. They are some of the characteristics of the tapir.

                                                       XV. Bye, Bye

Therefore, you know that if you go to the rain forest look for the tapir, but beware that they will run a way because they are very shy. Our adventure is over.

                                                                      WORK SITE

                                                    INTERNET : nationalgeographic.com

                                                                     grolier.com

                                                                     ebsco.com

                                                    BOOK :  Rain Forest Mammals

                                                     ENCYCLOPEDIA : animal encyclopedia