What is the difference between the Brazilian or Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and the Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus)?
The Brazilian Tapir and the Malayan Tapir are both ungulate (hoofed) mammals in the Tapiridae family of tapirs and bush cows. They are related to the horse and the rhinoceros.
The Brazilian Tapir and the Malayan Tapir both have a prehensile trunk, like a shortened elephant’s trunk.
The Brazilian Tapiris dark brown, with a paler face, whereas the Malayan Tapiris black with a dull-white strip of fur from its shoulders to its tail.
The Brazilian Tapir is native to the Amazon rainforest in South America, from Venezuela in the north to Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay in the south, whereas the Malayan Tapir is native to Southeast Asian rainforests, in Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Location of photographs: Parc Zoologique de Paris in Bois de Vincennes, France, and Paris Zoo, France
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM