Inspiring Animals - Tapirs

The third episode of the Inspiring Animal series bring you back to Belize to meet their national animal, the Central American Tapir!

A Central American tapir captured on the Inspire EdVentures trail cameras in Belize (2019)

The tapir is the national animal of Belize, where it is sometimes known as the “mountain cow.” However, tapirs and cows are not closely related; nor are tapirs and- as their appearance may misleadingly suggest- pigs, elephants, or anteaters. The tapir’s actual closest relatives may surprise you! Tapirs are odd-toed ungulates, making them most similar to horses and rhinoceroses. 

What does this mean? Well, an ungulate is a mammal with hooves, such as a goat or deer. Most ungulates are “even-toed”, only tapirs, horses, and rhinoceroses are the only remaining odd-toed ungulates, although they used to be much more plentiful.

However, this can be sligtly confusing since “odd-toed” or “even-toed” does not refer to the number of toes the animal has; tapirs, for example, have four-toed forefeet and three-toed hindfeet. Instead, the distinction is to how many toes bear the weight of the animal. In odd-toed ungulates, the number is one or three; in even-toed ungulates, the number is two or four.

Did you Know?

• Tapirs are Related to Rhinos and Horses!
  Even though it looks like a pig or a little elephant, the Central American tapir is actually more closely related to rhinos and horses. They all belong to the same group called perissodactyls, which means "odd-toed hoofed animals."

• Tapirs have Super Snouts!
  The tapir’s snout is like a mini trunk, and it’s super useful! They use it to grab leaves and fruits, and they can even snorkel with it when swimming in rivers.

• Tapirs are Great Swimmers!
  Tapirs love water and are excellent swimmers. They’ll often dive into rivers to cool off, escape predators, or munch on aquatic plants.

• Tapir Babies Are Born with Stripes and Spots!
  Tapir calves look like little watermelons! When they’re born, they have brown fur with white stripes and spots to help them camouflage in the forest. They lose their stripes as they grow older.

• Tapirs are Ancient!
  Tapirs have been around for millions of years. Fossils show that tapirs have barely changed since the time of the dinosaurs, making them a living piece of history!