Mammals
Mountain Tapir
Tapirus pinchaque · also called woolly tapir, Andean tapir
In the mist of a high Andean paramo, a mountain tapir with a thick woolly coat and white-tipped ears browses at the edge of the cloud forest, high above where any other tapir lives.
Overview
The mountain tapir, Tapirus pinchaque, is an Endangered tapir of the high Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru. Its woolly coat, high-altitude home, and small remaining population make it the most unusual and most threatened of the American tapirs.
A tapir in the clouds
Most tapirs live in warm lowland forest, but the mountain tapir has adapted to a cold, wet landscape at heights of up to about 4,000 metres.
Status
Endangered, with a decreasing population.
Mountain Tapir: common questions
Why is it called the woolly tapir?
It has thick, woolly fur that insulates it against the cold of the high Andes.
How high does the mountain tapir live?
It lives in cloud forest and open high mountain grassland known as paramo, at heights of up to about 4,000 metres.
How big is the mountain tapir?
It is the smallest of the four tapir species.
Where is the mountain tapir found?
It lives in the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru.