Baird's Tapir
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| Baird's Tapir | Festival | Gallery |
“I'm Baird's Tapir! It is said that I can grow bigger than Mountain Tapir-chan and South American Tapir-chan. I can't believe it myself. You see, I like playing in the mud. Woosh, Splash, and become wet! I guarantee you it's fun so I intend to spread this across the park!”
—Baird's Tapir's introduction
The Baird's Tapir is a type of Tapir Friend that first appeared in Guidebook 5.
Appearance
The Baird's Tapir's color palette is identical to the baby tapir, her design has different striped-and-spotted parts. Her bell sleeves have horizontal white stripes whereas her off-the-shoulder top has two vertical stripes and four tasks on each sides of the ruffled zipper which is attached with a white bow, she also bears a small red bow around her neck. The rest of her tasks are on her short light-brown hair which reaches the shoulders, her front fringe is half-white and go down to eyes-level. Her eyebrows are white and her eyes are entirely black. She wears a brown bermuda short and a pair of black shoes. As the baby tapir, she has their ears and tail.
Series Appearances
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In Real Life
Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), also known as the Central American tapir. Baird’s tapirs are found in most vegetation types at elevations ranging from sea level to 3,600 meters, they are found in forested areas with ponds and streams (wet tropical rainforest, tropical subdeciduous forest and montane cloud forests), palm swamps, paramo, mangrove, riparian forest, and successional vegetation (caused by natural disturbances). [1]
Adults have bristly, short dark hair and dark-grey coloured skin, apart from the pale grey-yellow cheeks and throat, and the white-tipped ears. Newborn tapirs have a reddish brown coat with white stripes and spots. [3]
Baird’s tapirs are strict herbivores, foraging from the forest floor to 1.5 meters above ground. Leaves from a variety of plant species provide the bulk of their diet, but they also eat fruits, twigs, flowers, sedges, and grasses. Fruits from several plant species seem to be preferred when they are in season, but the total amount of fruit eaten varies by habitat. Food and water availability are important factors in habitat selection. [2]
Primarily solitary, the species forms occasional associations with others and for breeding. There is no evidence of one tapir claiming an exclusive territory. When disturbed, they tend to seek cover underwater, they are excellent runners, sliders, waders, divers, and swimmers and are very agile in both the forest's hilly terrain and within streams and rivers. Baird’s tapirs are largely nocturnal but can be active during the day as well. Baird’s tapirs are most active at dusk and throughout the night, retiring to shelter of thick vegetation in the early morning. Young tapirs stay with their mother for up to two years. Very few vocal communications are known, the most important senses to Baird’s tapirs are smell and hearing, both of which are used in finding food and detecting threats. The most significant predator of Tapirus bairdii is humans, but pumas (Puma concolor) are potential predators of young tapirs. Baird’s tapirs rely largely on camouflage and their large size for protection against predators: at night they blend in extremely well with leafy shrubs, during the day they resemble stationary objects, such as large rocks. [2] [3] [4]
The main factors of Baird’s population decline remain habitat destruction and localized hunting. The species low reproductive rate makes it more vulnerable to these threats. This species occurs in several protected areas throughout its range including some large Biosphere reserves, national parks, wildlife refuges, comarcas (indigenous territories in Panama which make up a large part of tapir’s habitat), and other small to medium sized reserves. Mexico has developed the Baird’s Tapirs “Programa de Acción de Conservación de Especie” (Specie’s conservation action plan), and Honduras developed the “Plan Nacional para la conservación del danto (Tapirus bairdii) en Honduras” (National Plan for Baird’s Tapir conservation in Honduras). Both programs have objectives related to the conservation of habitats and populations, as well as research and conservation goals. [1]
Trivia
- It has been suggested that T. bairdii is an important species for indicating the overall health of Neotropical rain forests because of their rarity and sensitivity to disturbance.
- They are large, charismatic animals that can attract ecotourism interest because of their association with pristine tropical forest habitats.
References
1. "Tapirus bairdii" by Castellanos, A.; Foerester, C.; Lizcano, D.J.; Naranjo, E.; Cruz-Aldan, E.; Lira-Torres, I.; Samudio, R.; Matola, S.; Schipper, J. & Gonzalez-Maya. J. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2008. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
2. "Tapirus bairdii" by Jeffrey Wells. Version 2008. AWD : University of michigan, museum of zoology.
3. "Baird's tapir videos, photos and facts – Tapirus bairdii". ARKive.
4. Tapir Specialist Group – Baird’s Tapir.