Their diet consists almost completely of veggies including branches, leaves, berries, fruits and sometimes small insects! How delicious! Tapirs have very few predators due to their large weight and size. They only come out out during the nighttime hours. True night owls! During the day they find dark places to hide themselves and sleep.
Tapirs are very important for the regrowth of plants within the forest. They eat so many fruits that they are able to carry plant seeds far distances. Who would win a fruit-eating contest? You or a tapir? The tapir would win! When their body is done getting all the nutrients from the fruit, they deposit the plant seed within their poop! Many animals spread seeds along with the tapir. However, the amount of fruit that the tapir eats would win almost all eating competitions!
Tapirs are considered to be in danger because of hunting, cutting down forests and the building of cities. Tapirs, just like you, love running around! It is important that they have lots of space to be happy! We should be very worried about the tapir. They are very special animals that are really important for the health of forests across South America. However, just learning more about tapirs will help them for the future! You can help by telling everyone you know about the importance of tapirs.
