These primitive herbivores are related to today's horses and rhinoceroses. There are four species of tapirs and they are found in two very distant parts of the planet: one species in Southeast Asia and three species in South America.

They are nocturnal animals. Its black and grayish-white color allows it to camouflage itself perfectly with the chiaroscuros of the jungle to protect itself from predators such as the Sumatran Tiger. His myopia contrasts with his developed sense of smell and hearing. The upper lip becomes a “prehensile trunk” that allows it to reach the lower branches of trees. They are excellent dispersers of seeds of some plant species, since some even germinate as they pass through the digestive tract. They are solitary animals, although they are sometimes found in pairs. Females are fertile at three years old, and give birth every two years, since the gestation period is 13 months. They give birth to a single calf that will remain with its mother until it is 6 or 8 months old.