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Hunting and habitat loss due to land conversion and human encroachment are the most significant threats to the three endangered species of tapir. The Malayan tapir's inland forest habitat is of particular concern, as this land is being deforested rapidly and converted into palm oil plantations.
The Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii), also known as the Central American tapir, is a species of tapir native to Mexico, Central America, and northwestern South America. [4] It is the largest of the three species of tapir native to the Americas, as well as the largest native land mammal in both Central and South America.
The Karitiana people call it the little black tapir. [7] It is, purportedly, the smallest tapir species, even smaller than the mountain tapir (T. pinchaque), which had been considered the smallest. T. kabomani is allegedly also found in the Amazon rainforest, where it appears to be sympatric with the well-known South American tapir (T. terrestris).
[citation needed] Exclusively herbivorous, the animal forages for the tender shoots and leaves of more than 115 species of plants, of which around 30 are particularly preferred, moving slowly through the forest and pausing often to eat and note the scents left behind by other tapirs in the area. [21]
Tapirs are largely nocturnal and crepuscular, although the smaller mountain tapir of the Andes is generally more active during the day than its congeners. They have monocular vision . Copulation may occur in or out of water.
These rapid plant movements differ from the more common, but much slower "growth-movements" of plants, called tropisms. Tropisms encompass movements that lead to physical, permanent alterations of the plant while rapid plant movements are usually reversible or occur over a shorter span of time.
The mountain tapir, also known as the Andean tapir or woolly tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), is the smallest of the four widely recognized species of tapir. It is found only in certain portions of the Andean Mountain Range in northwestern South America. As such, it is the only tapir species to live outside of tropical rainforests in the wild. [4]
It has been argued that for plants that display foliar nyctinasty, it is a crucial mechanism for survival; however, most plants do not exhibit any nyctinastic movements. [1] Nyctinasty is found in a range of plant species and across xeric , mesic , and aquatic environments, suggesting that this singular behavior may serve a variety of ...