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Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammal
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Tapiridae
Genus: Tapirus
Species: T indicus
Evolution
Malayan tapirs developed 20 million years ago and don't have any subspecies, and evolved from Hyracotheriums their closest living relatives are rhinos and horses
Description
Malayan tapirs are large plant eating animals. They look like a mix of a pig and an anteater with a pig-like body and a short trunk. Baby Malayan tapirs look like black and white baby watermelons, and adults are black on the front and they turn white on the edge of their shoulders. An average adult is 6-8 feet long and weighs around 770 lbs with females being slightly larger than males. Malayan tapirs live for around 30 years both in the wild and in captivity.
Habitat
Malayan tapirs are non-invasive and are found in south east asia. They live in jungles and rainforests where the standard temperature is 80 degrees and they have an average rainfall of 160 inches. They are herbivores and only eat plants. Tapirs are browsers and will eat around 80 lbs of food in a day. Their diet mostly consists of phyllanthaceae, myristicaceae, and sapindaceae. Malayan tapirs have a very short list of predators which consist only of tigers, dholes, humans and sometimes leopards.
Breeding
Malayan tapirs are solitary animals except for mating pairs and mothers with young. Tapirs mate every 2 years and tend to be monogamous for the season which lasts from May to June. To find a mate they whistle, make wheezing noises and spray urine. When they are done they sniff each other's genitalia. After a 13 month gestation females give birth to one calf. Calves stay with their mothers for 12-18 months with females reaching sexual maturity at 3-4 years old and males reaching maturity at age 5.
Mortality
The Malayan Tapir are classified as endangered and have a population of around 3000 in the wild and that number continues to decrease, Malayan Tapirs don't have much competition within or outside their species, but they do get eaten by predators such as dholes and tigers. The reason they are endangered is mainly due to human activity. People have been interacting with Malayan tapirs since 1819. The main effect we have on them is habitat loss from agriculture, mining and commercial development projects. Other impacts humans have is from vehicle accidents and poaching. In 2019 25 Malayan Tapirs died from being hit by cars, and a baby Tapir can be sold for 5000$! But not all interactions are bad, in 2019 Malaysia built their first conservation center that will have a breeding program and a rehabilitation center. Zoos are also helping with Malayan Tapir breeding.
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