422 



THE ODD-TOED ANIMALS. 



beyond the lower lip. The stout feet are equipped 

 with four toes on the front pair and three on the 

 hinder pair. The strong hide has no wrinkles and 

 lies smoothly on the body. The hair is short, but 

 thick, and in the American species it is prolonged 

 into a mane from the middle of the head to the with- 

 ers. The dentition exhibits six incisors and one ca- 

 nine tooth in each side of both jaws, seven molars in 

 each side of the upper, and six in the corresponding 

 portions of the lower jaw. The bony structure of the 

 animal is distinguished by its comparative lightness. 



Of the species of this family, for the most part 

 American, at least one has been known to us for a 

 considerable length of time, the others having been 

 discovered, described and classified only in a recent 

 period. It is rather surprising that the American 

 Tapir was the. first enrolled in the books of natural 

 science, while the earliest definite information con- 

 cerning the Malayan Tapir came to the knowledge of 

 the white races in the beginning of this century; 

 though it was known a Ibng time before, not to us, 

 but to the Chinese, whose natural histories and 

 school books mention it. In the Tapirs the same 

 physical comparison may be instituted which is al- 

 most invariably justified when a family has repre- 

 sentatives in the Old and New World: the Old World 

 species are of nobler physical organization, and, so 

 to speak, more perfect animals than those living in 

 the New World. 

 Distinctive Features The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus 



of the Malay or Tapirus malayanus) is easily dis- 

 Tapir. tinguished from its American kins- 



man by its greater size; its proportionately more 

 slender shape; its head, thinner in the facial parts 

 and more curved in the skull portion; its stronger and 

 longer trunk; its stouter feet; the absence of a mane, 

 and lastly by its color. The difference in structure 

 of the trunks of these animals seems to me to be of 

 special importance. While the trunk of the Amer- 

 ican Tapir is abruptly projected from the upper lip 

 and has a rounded, tubular shape, the upper half of 

 the muzzle of the Malayan Tapir almost impercept- 

 ibly graduates into the trunk, the cross-section of 

 which is similar to that of an Elephant's trunk, 

 rounded in its upper half, but flattened in its lower 

 portion. 



The color of the hairy coat which envelops the 

 entire body is highly characteristic. A pure, deep 

 black may be regarded as the ground-color; a grayish 

 white caparison stands out on it in bold relief. The 

 exact bodily measurements of an adult female were: 

 the total length amounted to one hundred inches, 

 inclusive of the tail, which was nearly two and one- 

 half inches long; the height from ground to shoulder 

 was forty inches, the height at the buttocks forty- 

 two inches. The animal is a native of Tenasserim and 

 Siam, south of about the fifteenth parallel of north 

 latitude, the Malayan peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo. 



It is a striking fact that despite our active com- 

 merce with India and southern Asia nothing definite 

 was known of this Tapir until 1819, when the animal 

 was introduced to the notice of the western world 

 through the publication of the researches of Cuvier. 

 In 1820 the first skin, skeleton and various internal 

 parts of the yet very little known creature arrived in 

 Europe. We have received more inforrnation about 

 it since, but still we cannot boast of a perfect knowl- 

 edge concerning it. There is yet no authentic ac- 

 count given of the life of the animal in the free state; 

 neither do the observations of its life in captivity 

 entirely comprehend the subject. Sterndale charac- 



terizes it as a shy animal, living in seclusion, which, 

 if taken young, can be easily tamed and is capable 

 of great affection. 



Description of the A short mane on the neck and a 

 American skin of one color characterize the 

 Tapir. American Tapir {Tapirus americanus 



or Tapinis terrestris) which is also called Anta or 

 Danta in Brazil. It is that species of the familj^ 

 with which we first become acquainted. A few 

 years after the discovery of the American continent 

 travelers began telling tales of a large animal, which 

 they believed to be a Hippopotamus, and the Euro- 

 pean naturalists therefore bestowed the appellation 

 of Hippopotamus terrestris on it. The. famous Mar- 

 grave of Liebstad first gave a detailed description 

 and picture of it about the middle of the eighteenth 

 century. Later travelers and explorers completed 

 the first description, and at present there are few 

 animals about which we are better informed than 

 about this species of Tapir. The body shows a 

 rather uniform covering of hair, which is elongated 

 into a stiff but short mane from the middle of the 

 upper part of the head along the neck to the shoul- 

 ders. The color is a blackish gray-brown, assuming 

 a lighter tint on the sides of the head, especially on 

 the neck and breast; the feet and tail, the spine and 

 nape of the neck are usually darker; the ears are 

 edged with whitish gray. Various modific'ations in 

 the color of the coat of hair occur. There are pale 

 gray, yellowish or brownish individuals. Young 

 animals show only on the back the ground color 

 prevalent all over the bodies of the old ones. The 

 upper surface of the head is closely besprinkled 

 with circular, white spots, and along each side of the 

 body riin four continuous lines of dots of a light hue, 

 extending also over the limbs. As age advances, 

 these spots coalesce into each other, forming bands, 

 and disappear entirely at the end of the second 

 year. According to Tschudi's measurements, the 

 Tapir may attain a length of eighty inches and a 

 height of sixty-eight; Kappler, however, finds that 

 with this length the height of the animal at the 

 shoulder is barely forty inches. It is a strange fact 

 that these measurements apply to the female Tapir, 

 she as a rule being the larger of the two. 



Range of the Recent investigations show the range 



American of the Tapir to be restricted to the 



Tapir. south and east of South Ameirica, 



while in the north and in the west of the southern 



half, as well as in Central America, it is replaced by 



closely allied but distinct species. 



The accounts of the Tapirs given' in this work are 

 based on the communications of Azara, Rengger, 

 Prince of Wied, Tschudi, Schomburgk and others, 

 regarding the American species; for we lack any 

 detailed accounts of the life of the Asiatic Tapir. 

 Besides, all species are so similar that it suffices to 

 examine closely into the life and doings of the one. 



All species of Tapirs inhabit woodlands, and sed- 

 ulously shun gaps or open land. For this reason 

 they are the first to recede before the strides of 

 human civilization and retreat into the depth of the 

 forest, while, as Hensel says in speaking of South 

 America, the remaining animals of the tropics press 

 to those parts of the wood which border on the 

 lands which have been made arable. Iii the brush- 

 wood of the South American forests the Tapirs 

 make well defined, beaten roads, which are with 

 difficulty distinguished from the paths of the Indi- 

 ans and an inexperienced person is often induced to 

 follow them to his detriment and confusion. The 



