TAPIRS. 461 



daytime. They are fond of gamboling in the water and rolling in soft mud, their 

 hides being often thickly plastered with the latter, probably as a protection against 

 the bites of insects. Indeed, in many respects their mode of life is very similar 

 to that of swine, although in their more solitary habits they present a closer 

 resemblance to their cousins the rhinoceroses. Thus the males, except during the 

 pairing-season, are said to be completely solitary, and even family parties are but 

 rarely met with ; and, except when several have been temporarily collected by the 

 attraction of unusually good pasture, it is but very seldom that more than three 

 individuals are seen in compairy. Tapirs commence to feed in the evening, and 

 probably continue throughout the greater part of the night. 



These animals are slow and deliberate in their movements, usually walking 

 with their snouts close to the ground, and by the aid of scent or sound detecting 

 the presence of foes with extreme acuteness. When frightened, however, they rush 

 blindly forwards, crashing through bushes or splashing through water in precipitate 

 flight. The American tapir is an excellent swimmer, crossing the largest rivers 

 with facility, and even diving beneath the surface of the water, although with what 

 object is not ascertained. Not improbably it may also walk along the beds of 

 shallow rivers and lakes, as was observed to be the habit of a specimen of the 

 Malayan species kept in captivity at Barrakpur. 



The chief sound uttered by the American tapir is a peculiar shrill whistle, 

 which, according to Azara, has but little volume in comparison with the size of the 

 animal by which it is emitted. This whistle is uttered at all seasons, and is not, 

 as has been supposed, restricted to the pairing-season ; the Malayan species is 

 reported to give vent to a very similar sound. When suddenly disturbed, the 

 American tapir utters a loud snort. 



Although in general perfectly harmless animals, fleeing precipitately before 

 the smallest dog, tapirs will sometimes attack their enemies fiercely, this being 

 more especially the case with females that have been deprived of their young. In 

 such instances they rush violently at their foes — human or otherwise — and after 

 knocking them down will trample upon and bite them after the manner of wild 

 swine. 



In Brazil, the food of the tapir is largely composed of palm-leaves in districts 

 remote from cultivation, but at certain seasons of the year these animals subsist 

 almost exclusively on fallen fruits, while in other districts swamp-grasses and water- 

 plants form their chief nutriment. In the neighbourhood of plantations they 

 frequently do much harm to the crops of sugar-cane, melons, etc., and they are 

 especially dreaded by the proprietors of cacao-plantations for the amount of 

 damage they inflict on the young plants. Salt seems especially grateful to their 

 palate, and in order to obtain it they will eat the saline earth found in many parts 

 of South America. In captivity they are fond of any sweet substances, and it is 

 also said that in this condition they frequently become almost as omnivorous as 

 swine. The American species can be as easily tamed as their Asiatic cousin, and 

 tame individuals may sometimes be seen at large in the streets of some of the 

 South American towns. 



Although on account of their affording no trophies in the shape 

 of horns, antlers, or tusks, tapirs offer no attraction to European 



