Lowland Tapir
Tapirus terrestris
💦🐖
Chordata
Mammalia
Perissodactyla
Tapiromorpha
Tapiridae
Tapirus terrestris
The Lowland Tapir — Tapirus terrestris, the largest terrestrial mammal of South America today, a relic lineage of once-diverse prehistoric tapirs that has endured from the Ice Age into the Anthropocene.
Description
The lowland tapir is a stout, forest-dwelling herbivore characterized by its flexible proboscis—a short trunk used to grasp fruits and leaves. Its lineage traces back more than 20 million years, with ancestors spread across both North and South America. T. terrestris occupies rainforests, gallery forests, and river edges from Colombia to northern Argentina. Fossil and genetic evidence reveal it survived climatic oscillations that eliminated most of its tapirid cousins. Its thick hide, small eyes, and nocturnal habits make it both resilient and elusive.
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
Humans have hunted Tapirus terrestris since the late Pleistocene for meat, hide, and fat. Archaeological sites in Brazil and Bolivia show butchery marks on tapir bones dating back over 10,000 years, indicating it was a consistent food source for early foragers. Later, Indigenous groups across the Amazon and Pantanal developed ritual and practical uses for the tapir, regarding it as a forest guardian spirit while also exploiting it for sustenance.
Three archaeological associations:
Lapa do Santo, Minas Gerais (Brazil) — Cut-marked tapir bones dated to ~9,500 years BP, associated with early Holocene hunter-gatherers.
Serranópolis, Goiás (Brazil) — Pleistocene-Holocene transition layers with Tapirus remains showing marrow extraction, ~10,000 years BP.
Monte Verde, Chile — Tapir fossils in late Pleistocene strata (~14,000 years BP), representing the southern extent of ancient tapirid range and early human coexistence.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Extant
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
0
BP
Late Pleistocene
South America
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
7
Est. Renderable Fat
14.7
kg
Targeted Organs
Visceral & subcutaneous
Adipose Depots
Subcutaneous rump, visceral
Preferred Cuts
Visceral depot
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
2