ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 
19 
tame but affectionate, and refused to drink its 
portion of milk save when a finger was properly 
located in the baby mouth. The specimen was 
a female. Although it ate heartily and did its 
utmost to make good, the pneumonia eurse of 
young animals coming from the tropics to the 
United States in cold weather, had taken pos¬ 
session of her small lungs, and on her sixth day 
in New York she suddenly expired. The photo¬ 
graph of this specimen, taken in Panama just 
previous to shipment, is shown herewith. 
Naturally our efforts to reduce some speci¬ 
mens of the giant tapir to a state of comfortable 
captivity in New York are continuing, and we 
have excellent reason for hope that the coming 
spring will see us in possession of at least two 
more specimens. Mr. E. R. Cuthbert, whose 
very interesting article on the wild life of 
Panama appears on other pages, will take the 
warpath in January, and we are persuaded that 
he will not stop short of success. 
Two species of Tapirella are found in Central 
America ,—Tapirella bairdi and Tapirella dowi; 
the latter being known as Dow’s tapir. The 
former is found from the Panama Canal Zone 
to the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico. Dow’s tapir 
is accredited only to Guatemala and Nicaragua. 
Concerning the distribution of both species, 
much remains to be revealed. There are reports 
to the effect that both these species sometimes 
attain a weight of 1,000 pounds or more, but 
this high figure requires confirmation. There is 
one sensational report of an individual which 
weighed 1,400 pounds, but we are inclined to 
place that animal in the same category as 
twelve-foot lions and tigers, and fourteen-foot 
Alaskan brown bears. 
The color of the adult Baird’s tapir is quoted 
by D. G. Eliot as “dark redish brown.” 
At all events the Bairdi and Dowi tapirellas 
are the giants of the tapir groups, and as such 
they merit close acquaintance and serious con¬ 
sideration. 
It goes without saying that it is high time for 
our museums to send collectors to Central 
America, who will collect and study these species 
as they deserve, and enable our institutions to 
place adequate habitat groups and maps of 
distribution before the millions of people of our 
country who are interested in the big 'game of 
the world. 
'ii 4 V’ 
BAIRD'S GIANT TAPIR TAPIRELLA BAIRDI 
From a mounted specimen in the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh 
