1046 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



regard to the probable ancestors of the tapirs, we shall have some remarks to make 

 at the conclusion of this chapter. 



Save for the circumstance that the Malayan species differs from all the rest in 

 coloration, the various kinds of tapirs are remarkably alike, both in respect of bodily 

 form and habits. Whereas, however, four of the species are found at or near the 

 sea level, the fifth inhabits comparatively-high elevations in the Cordillera. 



Speaking of tapirs in general, Sir W. H. Flower remarks that "they 



are solitary, nocturnal, shy, and inoffensive, chiefly frequenting the 



depths of shady forests and the neighborhood of water, to which they frequently resort 



for the purpose of bathing, and in which they often take refuge when pursued. They 



feed on various vegetable substances, as shoots of trees and bushes, buds and leaves. ' ' 



The Malayan tapir ( T. indicus} is the largest of the whole group, 

 Malayan Tapir ^ Differs from all the others in its parti-colored skin. In height 

 this animal stands from three to three and one-half feet at the withers, and about 

 four inches more at the rump, its length along the curves from the tip of the snout 

 to the root of the tail being about eight feet. In the adult the color of the head and 

 front of the body, as well as the limbs, is dark brown or black, while the body from 

 behind the shoulders to the rump and the upper part of the thighs is grayish white, 

 as are also the ears. On the other hand, the newly-born young are brownish or vel- 

 vety black, marked with spots and longitudinal streaks of brownish yellow on the 

 sides, and of white beneath; the change from the young to the adult coloration tak- 

 ing place, according to Mr. Blanford, between four and six months after birth. 



The Malayan tapir is found in the peninsula from which it takes its name, ex- 

 tending northward to Tenasserim, and it also occurs in the island of Sumatra, and 

 perhaps in Borneo. Although one of its skulls had been sent to the Asiatic Society of 

 Bengal in Calcutta as far back as the year 1806, it was not till Diard in 1817 sent to 

 Cuvier a portrait and description of a specimen then living in the viceroy's men- 

 agerie in Barrackpur, near Calcutta, that it was recognized in Europe as a distinct 

 species. Apart from a notice by Wahlfeldt in 1772, Sir Stamford Raffles had, how- 

 ever, knowledge of the creature's existence in 1805, and in 1816 Major Farquhar 

 sent a description of the animal to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 



Owing to its retiring nature, the Malayan tapir is but seldom seen in its native 

 haunts, and our information as to its habits is consequently meagre in the extreme. 

 Indeed, nothing is known as to its breeding habits, although it seems to be ascer- 

 tained that but one young is produced at a birth. Mr. Mason writes that, " though 

 seen so rarely, the tapir is by no means uncommon in the interior of the Tavoy and 

 Mergui provinces. I have frequently come upon its recent footmarks, but it avoids 

 the inhabited parts of the country." When taking to the water, it is reported to 

 plunge in and walk along the bottom, instead of swimming. In spite of its shy and 

 retiring habits, this tapir, if captured at a sufficiently early period, can be readily 

 tamed, and is said to exhibit considerable attachment to its master. 

 American f the New - World tapirs the best-known species is the common 



Tapirs South-American tapir ( T. americanus} , originally described by Lin- 

 naeus as a terrestrial species of hippopotamus. In common with the 

 other American kinds, the adult is of a uniform dark brown or blackish color, 



