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{{Taxobox
| color = pink
| name = Baird's Tapir
| status = EN
| trend = down
| image = Belize21.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Mammal]]ia
| ordo = [[Perissodactyla]]
| familia = [[Tapiridae]]
| genus = ''[[Tapirus]]''
| species = '''''T. bairdii'''''
| binomial = ''Tapirus bairdii''
| binomial_authority = ([[Theodore Gill|Gill]], [[1865]])
| range_map = Distribution map Tapirus bairdii.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution of Baird's Tapir is shown in <font color=blue>blue</font color><br>In <font color=red>red</font color>, [[El Salvador]], where it is extinct.<br>In <font color=yellow>yellow</font color>, [[Ecuador]], presence is unconfirmed.
}}
'''Baird’s Tapir''' (''Tapirus bairdii'') is one of the three [[species]] of [[tapir]] found in [[Latin America]].
==Various names==
It is named for the [[United States|American]] [[natural history|naturalist]] [[W. M. Baird]] who traveled to [[Mexico]] in 1843 and observed the animals. However, the species was first documented by another American naturalist, [[W. T. White]].
Like the other Latin American tapirs, Baird’s Tapir is commonly called [[danta]] by people in all areas. In the regions around [[Oaxaca]] and [[Veracruz]], it is referred to as the ''anteburro''. [[Costa Rica]]ns, [[Panama]]nians, and [[Colombia]]ns call it ''macho de monte'', and in [[Belize]], it is known as the mountain cow.
In Mexico, it is called ''tzemen'' in Tzeltal,; in Lacandon Maya, it is called ''cash-i-tzimin'', meaning “jungle horse;” and in Tojolabal it is called ''niguanchan'', meaning “big animal.” In Panama, the Kunas people call Baird’s Tapir ''moli'' in their colloquial language (Tule kaya), ''oloalikinyalilele'', ''oloswikinyaliler,'' or ''oloalikinyappi'' in their political language (Sakla kaya), and ''ekwirmakka'' or ''ekwilamakkatola'' in their spiritual language (Suar mimmi kaya).
==General appearance and characteristics==
Baird's Tapir has a distinctive cream-colored marking on its face and throat and a dark spot on each cheek, behind and below the eye. The rest of its hair is dark brown or grayish-brown. The animal is the largest of the three American species and, in fact, the largest land [[mammal]] found in the wild from [[Mexico]] to [[South America]]. Baird’s Tapirs usually grow to 2 meters in length (6.5 feet) and 1.2 meters (4 feet) in height, and adults weigh between 240 and 400 kilograms (525 and 880 pounds). Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible [[proboscis]]es. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.
==Lifecycle==
[[Image:Central American Tapir-Belize20.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Baird's Tapir: sniffing]]
The [[gestation]] period is approximately 400 days, after which one offspring is born ([[multiple birth]]s are extremely rare). The babies, as with all species of tapir, have reddish-brown hair with white spots and stripes, a [[camouflage]] which affords them excellent protection in the dappled light of the forest. This pattern eventually fades into the adult coloration.
For the first week of their lives, infant Baird’s Tapirs are hidden in secluded locations while their mothers forage for food and return periodically to nurse them, but after this time, the young follow their mothers on feeding expeditions. At three weeks of age, the young are able to swim. [[Weaning]] occurs after one year, and [[sexual maturity]] is usually reached six to twelve months later. Baird’s Tapirs can live for over thirty years.
==Behavior==
Baird's Tapir may be active at all hours and is neither [[diurnal animal|diurnal]] nor [[nocturnal]]. It forages for leaves and fallen fruit, using well-worn tapir paths which zig-zag through the thick undergrowth of the forest. The animal usually stays close to water and enjoys swimming and wading – on especially hot days, individuals will rest in a watering hole for hours with only their heads above water.
It generally leads a solitary life, though feeding groups are not uncommon and individuals, especially those of different ages (young with their mothers, juveniles with adults) are often observed together. The animals communicate with one another through shrill whistles and squeaks.
==Habitat==
Baird’s Tapir is found in the dense jungles of [[Central America]], including southeastern Mexico, Belize, [[Guatemala]], [[Honduras]], Costa Rica, [[Nicaragua]], Panama, and possibly Colombia and [[Ecuador]]. The animal can be found at altitudes as high as 3,350 meters (10,700 feet). The Also Like to Suckle On their mothers teits me too- cris cotter
==Predation and vulnerability==
According to the [[IUCN]], Baird’s Tapir is in danger of [[extinction]], and in [[1996]] it was officially classified as “Vulnerable.” Hunting by humans and habitat loss are the two major factors in the species’ diminishing numbers. Even though in many areas the animal is only hunted by a few humans, any loss of life is a serious blow to the tapir population, especially because their reproductive rate is so slow.
Though in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama, hunting of Baird’s Tapirs is illegal, the laws protecting them are often completely unenforced. Furthermore, restrictions against hunting do not address the problem of [[deforestation]]. Therefore, many [[conservationist]]s focus on environmental education and sustainable forestry to try to save Baird’s Tapir and other rainforest species from extinction.
==References==
* {{IUCN2006|assessors=Aldan ''et al''|year=2002|id=21471|title=Tapirus bairdii|downloaded=11 May 2006}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is endangered
* A tapir is hunted by the characters of [[Apocalypto]] at the beginning of this 2006 movie.
==External link==
*ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Tapirus_bairdii/ images and movies of the Baird's tapir ''(Tapirus bairdii)'']
*Tapir Specialist Group - [http://www.tapirs.org/tapirs/bairds.html Baird's Tapir]
<!--By government decree, see [[Belize]].-->
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapir, Baird's}}
[[Category:Tapirs|Baird's Tapir]]
[[Category:Endangered species]]
[[Category:Mammals of Central America]]
[[Category:Fauna of Colombia]]
[[Category:Fauna of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Fauna of Southern Mexico]]
[[Category:Fauna of Mexico]]
[[Category:National symbols of Belize]]
[[da:Bairds tapir]]
[[es:Tapirus bairdii]]
[[lt:Centrinės Amerikos tapyras]]
[[nl:Midden-Amerikaanse tapir]]
[[tr:Baird tapiri]]
[[zh:中美貘]]
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