THE STORY OF THE TAPIR . 
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cousin. When an American tapir is attacked by a jaguar, it immediately 
rushes into the thickest cover in the hope of dislodging its assailant, which, 
from the thickness of the animal’s hide, is unable to obtain a firm hold on 
its back. The tapir is not unfrequently successful; and many of these 
animals are killed with the marks of jaguar’s claws on their backs. 
It is now settled that there are several distinct kinds of tapirs to be 
found in Central and South America. The common tapir is only found 
in the low, hot regions, and rarely higher than an elevation of three thousand 
feet, but a more hardy species, known as the “mountain tapir,” ranges on 
A BROWN TAPIR OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 
the eastern side of the Andes Mountains at an altitude of seven and eight 
thousand feet. 
The brown tapir is never found outside of Guatemala, Nicaragua and 
Costa Rica, and more nearly resembles a swine than any of the other species. 
The common tapir is almost black, while the species to which I am referring . 
has hair of a light brown color. It differs from the common tapir in other 
respects—the skull, nose, etc.—which differences are of more interest to 
scientists than to the lay reader. 
