228 
THE STORY OF THE TAPIR . 
The Malayan tapir exceeds all others in coloration—in fact, no other 
animal is so strongly marked except the zebra. It is black from the end 
of its long snout, or short trunk, to> a point behind the shoulders. From 
the shoulders to the hind-quarters it is pure white. The hind-quarters and 
legs are black. While full-grown tapirs are handsome in color contrasts, 
the young are handsomer still, and present a more varied scheme of colora¬ 
tion. In point of color they are among the handsomest of animals. 
When the young of the Malayan tapir are born they are brownish and 
velvety black, marked with spots and stripes of brownish yellow and white 
on the sides of the body, the same as in the young of the wild boar. The 
Malayan tapir is also distinguished from the American tapir by the longer 
and more slender trunk and by the absence of the sinewy fatty comb on the 
neck and head, reaching to the ears in the American species. 
The Malayan tapir is found in the peninsula from which it takes its name, 
extending northwards to Tenasserim, and it also occurs in the island of Su¬ 
matra, and perhaps in Borneo. 
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 meager in 
the extreme. Indeed, nothing is known as to its breeding habits, although it 
seems to be ascertained that but one young is produced at a birth. 
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 anti is said to exhibit con¬ 
siderable attachment to its master. 
The young of the American tapirs are striped and spotted after the SUSHI® 
ner of the Asiatic species. 
