This six-day-old Malayan tapir image - iwikioimage

Click Here For Download Image

Even though there are differences in habitat and geography, all tapir calves, no matter the species, begin life looking a lot like brown- and beige-striped watermelons. Why? This pattern and color combination serves as the perfect camouflage for these little ones as they explore their forest home alongside mom, and especially, when they rest on the sun-spotted forest floor, where their coat makes them virtually impossible to see at times. This six-day-old Malayan tapir mnzoo will begin to lose these markings after a few months, transitioning to its adult coat by the time it is around six months old. Malayan tapirs have a distinctive black and white coat which helps to distort their appearance in the forest, making it harder for predators to spot them. Like other tapirs species, they have a stubby, vestigial tail, a flexible nose, and four hooves on their front feet and only three on the rear feet. As the only tapir species in southeast Asia, Malayan tapirs play an important role in the forests just as their relatives in South America do - they are all important recyclers of nutrients with their waste helping the soil, and the life it supports, to thrive.