Tapir Specialist Group Logo The IUCN/SSC-affiliated Tapir Specialist Group is a global group of biologists, zoo professionals, researchers and advocates dedicated to conserving tapirs and their habitat through strategic action-planning in countries where tapirs live, information sharing, and through educational outreach that shows the importance of the tapir to local ecosystems and to the world at large.

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  The World's Tapirs--The MountainTapir (Tapirus pinchaque)
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The Mountain tapir is the largest mammal in the tropical Andes

Mountain Tapir Habitat Range
mountain tapir range map
Map by Carlos Pedraza, TSG, 2008 (click to see larger)

Range: Montane forests and Paramos in Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru, between 2000 to 4000 meters elevation.

Characteristics: The Mountain tapir is the smallest of tapir species. Their color is brownish to black with long hair and a white line around the lips. The adults have two characteristic hair-free patches in the rump. They measure 1.8 meters long, 0.8 meters high, and weigh between 150 and 250 Kilos. The Mountain tapir is the smallest and most furry of the tapirs. As with all tapir species, their young have a dappled, camouflage coat.

Status: Listed as Endangered by IUCN. It is included in CITES appendix I.

Threats: Mounatin tapirs are threatened with extinction mainly through loss of habitat. In their areas of occurance they are not common, and their densities are low. They are also hunted in many areas. Additionally, their body parts are sometimes used in traditional medicine (their feet are used to treat epilepsy and heart disease).

Behavior: The mountain tapir feeds on leaves, twigs and fruits of a large number of plant species in Andean forests and paramos. The most preferred are plants of the genus Lupinus, leaves of Gynoxys, Gunnera sp, Oreopanax, and Chusquea sp. The tapirs are important seed dispersers and a key component for the maintenance of the structure and composition of montane forests in South America

They are solitary and their activity is mainly between the first hours of dusk and first hours in sunrise. They are more active in low temperatures than on warm days. Like other tapir species the mountain tapir is comfortable in water and can swim. They also have a very developed sense of smell and hearing. They are strong and very well adapted to locomotion in forested hills and to the harsh weather conditions of the high Andes.

Other names: Tapir de montaña, danta conga, danta de páramo, danta lanuda.

More About Mountain Tapirs
Red Danta
EDGE Mountain Tapir Profile
Wikipedia/Mountain_tapir
San Francisco Zoo tapir video

Sources
Lizcano, D. J., A. Guarnizo, J. A. Suarez, F. K. Florez, and O. Montenegro. 2006. Danta de paramo Tapirus pinchaque. in J. V. Rodriguez-Maecha, M. Alberico, F. Trujillo, and J. Jorgenson, editors. Libro rojo de los mamíferos de Colombia. Serie libros rojos de especies amenazadas de Colombia.
Conservación Internacional, Colombia & Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, Bogota, Colombia.

Morales-Jiménez A.L., Sánchez F., K Poveda & A. Cadena. 2004. Mamíferos terrestres y voladores de Colombia. Guía de Campo. Bogotá, Colombia. 248 p.

Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo Territorial, Viceministerio de Ambiente, Dirección de Ecosistemas. 2005. Programa Nacional para la Conservación del Género Tapirus en Colombia.

Written with help from Diego Lizcano, TSG, and Juliana Rodriguez, TSG

Illustration generously provided by Stephen Nash, Conservation International