Till; AMKIMCAN TAITIl.* 



TlIE general aspect of this animal bears a close resemblance to that of a hog, which iiiiinial it, liov, 

 I'.ir exceeds in si/e and power, being about five furl", in length, with a heavy, massive body, and a thick 

 and muscular neck. Its colour, when adult, is a deep, blackish brown; but when young, he-ide., 

 being lighter than it afterwards becomes, the cheeks are spoiled with white, and several narrow bands 

 of white, alternating with rows of small white spots, pass along each side of the body. The neck- 

 rises boldly from the head, arching to the shoulders, the elevation being caused by the extraordinary 

 si/e of the ligament which runs from the occiput along the spinous processes of the vertebnc. The 

 neck is surmounted by a .stiff mane; the head is compressed laterally; the eyes are small; the 

 skin very thick and tough, but covered with a thin and delicate epidermis. 



Few animals of equal size have so extensive a range as the American Tapir. It is found in every 

 part of South America to the east of the Andes, from the Straits of Magellan to the Isthmus of 

 Darien; but it appears to be most common within the tropics. The inmost recesses of deep f. 

 are the chosen haunts of this species, which is not gregarious, and flies from the proximity of man. 

 I iioll'ensive and gentle, the tapir, from his prodigious strength and the toughness of his hide, is no easy 



THE AMKHICAN TAI'IIV. 



prey lo the native hunter, notwithstanding his poisoned arrows, nor even to the better armed sports 

 man of Europe. When attacked, the first thing it does is to rush to the river, clearing a path through 

 the intertwined underwood by dint of muscular exertion. Here it often happens that neither men 

 nor dogs can follow. If tracked to the water, it plunges in, and defends itself against its assailants, 

 seizing the dogs with its teeth as they swim towards it, and inflicting on them the most desperate 

 wounds. 



'I he tapir is, for the most part, nocturnal in its habits, sleeping or remaining quiet during flu- 

 day, and at night seeking its food. This consists, in the animal's natural state, of shoots of trees, 

 buds, and wild fruits. According to D'Azara, who \\as a very accurate observer, it is fond of the 

 liin-i'-i-n, or nitrous earth, of Paraguay. It is, however, a most indiscriminate shallower of everything, 

 filthy or clean, nutritious or otherwise, as the accumulation found in a stomach dissected by M r. Yarrcll 

 showed. Pieces of wood, clay, pebbles, and bones, are not unfrequently taken out of the stomachs 

 of those which are killed in the woods ; and one kept by D'A/ara not only gnawed a silver snuff-box 



* T.ipir Amerioanus. 



