... Baird's Tapir (Danta) ...
by Infocostarica Staff

This involved genus is the largest coexisting local terrestrial mammal in Central America. Before it was hunted with guns, it was normal and ranged through all habitats from mangrove swamps, rain forest and deciduous forest to the bamboo thickets at 3500m in the Talamanca mountains. At present it is found only in areas where hunting is restricted or difficult, and in this areas it is presumably below normal density owing to past hunting. There are at least twenty to fifty in Santa Rosa National Park and possibly one hundred to three hundred in Corcovado National Park.

In the wild, apparently considering they are still suffering the psychological effects of hunting, Costa Rican tapirs are very timid and wary. Their vision is poor, but their hearing and sense of smell are exceptional. They run off ponderously if startled but can also sneak away without noise. People have encountered tapirs feeding during night and day. In the deciduous forests of Santa Rosa National Park they seem to concentrate near water holes during the dry season. Whether this is for drinking water or defecation is unclear, since they seem to want badly to defecate in water. If water is not available they will repeatedly defecate on the same site on dry land, as has been observed in Chirripó National Park. Tapir feces look like horse dung but contain much larger chips of woody twigs.

Juveniles show to accompany mothers for as much as a year after birth, until they reach what appears to be almost two-thirds of mother ´s weight. Mothers are reputed to attack humans that threaten their young. Tapirs make conspicuous trails in the forest, but they also pass through areas with no trails. They are usually seem one or two at a time, with no tendency to form herds. The corraled tapir at Finca La Pacifica had the same ticks and fungal diseases as do horses, and it died of a respiratory disease. It had no sing of torsalo infection, despite large numbers of these fly larvae in cattle in nearby pastures. It was very affectionate toward humans willing to scratch or rub this belly, armpits, or underchin. It tried to bite people who tried to ride it. With its front feet, it climbed readily up the corral side to get a withheld food.

Fossil tapir remains have been found on large land masses except Australia.