Baird’s Tapir
Tapirus bairdii
💦🐖
Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Tapiromorpha
Tapiridae
Tapirus bairdii
The Central American survivor — Baird’s Tapir is the largest land mammal native to Central America, a shy browser of tropical forests whose lineage stretches back to the Ice Age. Once common across the region, this nocturnal herbivore’s quiet habits and deep evolutionary roots make it a living relic of ancient megafauna.
Description
Tapirus bairdii inhabits dense rainforests and river valleys from southern Mexico through Central America to the northwest corner of Colombia. It is an adept swimmer, using its prehensile snout to browse on aquatic and terrestrial vegetation. Weighs roughly 150–300 kg and measures 1.8–2.5 m long with a shoulder height of 73–120 cm. Coat is dark brown to reddish‑brown with paler underside and white fringes on ears and lips; long snout forms a short proboscis. Occupies low‑land swamps, mangroves, tropical rainforests, cloud forests and páramo up to 3,600 m; solitary, shy herbivore and key seed disperser. Despite being related to horses and rhinoceroses, its shape and habits recall the Pleistocene — a ghost of a wilder world that managed to survive human arrival in the Americas.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
300
1
1.5
2
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Browsers
Hunt History
Early human societies across Central America likely hunted Baird’s Tapir opportunistically for meat and hide. Its size made it a valuable but challenging prey — requiring cooperative hunting or traps near waterholes. Archaeological evidence suggests that prehistoric peoples saw the tapir as both food and spiritual symbol, sometimes featuring it in early iconography. As agriculture spread, habitat loss joined hunting as a pressure that continues today.
Archaeological Evidence of Human Predation:
Belize, Colha Site (ca. 4,000–3,000 years ago): Tapir bones found in midden deposits associated with pre-Maya foragers.
Costa Rica, Guanacaste region (ca. 2,500 years ago): Remains with cut marks indicating butchery near seasonal watercourses.
Mexico, Chiapas Highlands (ca. 1,800 years ago): Ceremonial use of tapir bones found in early agricultural settlements, showing both dietary and ritual significance.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Extant
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
0
BP
Late Pleistocene
North America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
7
Est. Renderable Fat
21
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Subcutaneous rump, visceral
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
2