The largest of all the tapirs. Is easily distinguished from the American tapirs by the patch of white on the middle of its body.
Tapirs are hunted by the natives for the sake of their thick hides, which are cut into thongs for reins and bridles. The flesh also is esteemed by some. There are three methods of capture. In South America the lasso is used with occasional success. But when not foiled by undergrowth, the hunter often loses his victim by reason of the violence and force of its rush, which snaps the thong. The Gauchos intercept it with dogs on its way to the water, when it will fight furiously, and many dogs may be killed before its dispatch is accomplished. Others imitate its peculiar, shrill call, and shoot it on its approach in answer thereto. Captives are easily tamed, and may be seen walking about the streets in many South American towns. They wander into the forest by day, returning in the evening to be fed, and are said to display great affection. On account of their great strength, it has been suggested that such captives should be used as beasts of burden.
Except the Malayan Tapir, which is black and white, tapirs are black or dark brown in colour, and but scantily clothed with hair; but the young, it is interesting to note, are spotted and striped with white or fawn-colour on a dark ground, a coloration recalling that of the wild pig.
There are five different species of tapir. Their geographical distribution is remarkable, four species being South American, and one belonging to the Malayan region. But far back in the world's history, as we know from fossils, tapirs roamed over the warm and temperate regions of Europe, and their remains have been found in China and the United States. Thus the intervening gaps existing to-day have been made by the extinction of these intermediate species.
By nature the tapir appears to be a harmless and inoffensive animal, flying even before the smallest dog. Occasionally, however, it displays great courage and ferocity, and this appears to be especially the case with females deprived of their young. At such times they will charge with great spirit, and knock down, trample on, and bite their victim after the fashion of wild swine.
Man alone excepted, the most deadly foe of the American Tapir is the jaguar, as is the tiger of the Malay species. The American tapir often gets rid of the jaguar by rushing at full speed into the dense jungle, thus sweeping its assailant from its back, the jaguar's claws finding but an insecure hold on its victim's thick hide. Tapirs are often found bearing scars all over the back, witnessing the terrible nature of the wounds received at such times.
That the tapir is a comparatively unknown animal is partly accounted for by the fact that it is but little sought after by the big-game hunter—who finds more excitement in pursuit of its larger relative the rhinoceros—and partly, perhaps, owing to its inhabiting regions comparatively little visited by Europeans. Nevertheless, the tapir is an animal of quite peculiar interest, having undergone but little change during long ages, whilst its ally the horse has effected in the same time a complete transformation, not only in its general shape, but more especially in its teeth and feet. The gradual steps by which this transformation has been brought about we can trace through certain fossil forms, of which we can say little here.
Amongst these fossils occur remains of an animal bearing a very strong resemblance to the living tapir, but which, strangely enough, is not really so closely related thereto as to the horses. It does not, however, stand in the direct line of descent of these latter, but must be regarded as representing a collateral branch thereof. The occurrence of this distinct tapir-like animal is of great scientific interest.
The short, stout legs and spreading toes of the living tapirs, rhinoceroses, and ancestral horse are admirably adapted for plodding deliberately over soft and yielding ground, such as is afforded by reed-beds and banks of rivers, or the shady depths of forests. Speed in such surroundings is not necessary, food in plenty being always at hand, and escape from enemies being sought by concealment in thick herbage rather than flight. With a migration to drier and higher plains, the spreading foot has undergone a change. The short legs and numerous toes have given place to long ones, and of the several toes growth has taken place in one only—the third; whilst the others have slowly dwindled, till eventually only traces of the second and fourth remain, as in the modern horse. Thus has a firmer support over hard, unyielding ground been brought about, and great speed gained. The animals with this type of foot (in which the third is the largest toe) are known as the Odd-toed Hoofed Animals. The pigs, sheep, deer, and oxen have gained an equally efficient foot, yet retaining four toes. Of these, the third and fourth are equal in size, and serve as a support to the body, whilst the second and fifth have now become functionless, and do not reach the ground. This type of foot characterises that group of the hoofed animals known as the Even-toed.
The Hyrax.