Tapir

Tapir, any member of the family Tapiridae in suborder Ceratomorpha (tapirs and rhinoceroses) of the order Perissodactyla, which also includes the horse.

They are plump, thick-skinned creatures, the males weighing about 400-800 pounds (180-360 kg) and the females 200-400 pounds (90-180 kg). The forefeet bear four toes; the hindfeet, three, but the outer toes of the forefeet are small and on hard ground may not leave an imprint, so that tapir tracks are sometimes mistaken for those of small rhinos.

The tapirs of Central and South America are all smaller than those of Malaya, more slenderly built, and plain brown, with white tones here and there, but no sharply defined, solid white area. Like the Malay species, however, the young are marked with spots and streaks but at a year old these fade, without being replaced by any adult pattern.

These unusual animals are considered endangered. World Tapir Day, which occurs on 27 April every year, has been established to raise awareness about the decline of the species.