Tapirus indicus
Malayan tapirs are currently classed as endangered with less than 2000 mature individuals left in the wild. One of the main reasons for Malayan tapir decline is due to their natural habitat being converted into palm oil plantations. Other reasons include hunting, road kill and poaching.
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Malayan Tapir are found in southern Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) and through the Malayan peninsular, and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. They are most commonly found in dense primary rainforests where they eat grass, aquatic plants, leaves, buds, soft twigs and fruits on low growing shrubs. A unique feature that tapir possess is its fleshy prehensile nose that it uses to grab leaves and even use as a snorkel while swimming.
Tapirs grow up to 1.8 meters long (6 feet) with the females being larger at up to 400kg and the smaller males weighing up to 350kg. It is the largest of the four tapir species.
Malayan Tapirs are nocturnal and communicate verbally, via high pitched sounds and non-verbally, via urine sprays. By sniffing and recognizing urine marks tapirs know if there are other tapirs in the area.
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