Anta (Tapir)

Description:

The tapir can weigh 300 kg. It has three toes on their hind feet and an additional, much less in front. It has a flexible trunk, prehensile and by who feels smells and moisture. Selective herbivorous, eating leaves, fruits, buds, branches, aquatic plants, grass and pasture. Can be seen feeding even in sugarcane plantations, rice, corn, cocoa and melon. It spends nearly ten hours a day foraging in search of food. Nocturnal, hides by day in the woods, coming out at night to graze. Of solitary habits, they are found together only for mating and breastfeeding. The female usually has only one cub, and the couple separates after mating. Gestation lasts 335-439 days. Males mark territory whenever urinating in the same place. In addition, the tapir has facial glands that leave a trace. When threatened, dives into the water or hide in the woods. When galloping, knocks down small trees, making a lot of noise. Nothing goes well and efficiently steep terrain. Produces a variety of sounds: the whistle with the male attracts the female in mating season, the high-pitched squeal that indicates fear or pain, snorts showing aggression and clicker.

Habitat:

Inhabits Central America, South America and South Asia near humid forests and rivers: take, often, water baths and mud to get rid of ticks, fleas and other parasites.