: any of a genus (Tapirus) of herbivorous chiefly nocturnal perissodactyl mammals of tropical America and southeastern Asia from Myanmar to Sumatra that have a heavy sparsely hairy body and the snout and upper lip prolonged into a short flexible proboscis
Illustration of tapir
Examples of tapir in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebThe species may have played a role similar to what tapirs and monkeys play today, as a fruit eater and large seed disperser that helped the forest thrive.—Sara Novak, Discover Magazine, 27 Oct. 2023 In her work, she’s helped discover that an average of 733 seeds from 24 different species can be found in one tapir’s feces.—Mika Travis, Detroit Free Press, 14 July 2023 The animal went extinct in China some 1,000 years ago, during the Song dynasty, leading to confusion over whether references to tapirs in ancient Chinese texts refer to the large herbivorous mammal or the similarly colored panda.—Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Aug. 2023 Hu’s team also found in the tomb a complete skeleton of a Malaysian tapir.—Lyric Li, Washington Post, 9 Aug. 2023 The capybara young are at the San Diego Zoo’s Elephant Odyssey, alongside the Baird’s tapir.—City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 July 2023 Her talk focused on tapirs, a pig-like herbivorous mammal that inhabits jungles and forests in South and Central America and Southeast Asia.—Mika Travis, Detroit Free Press, 14 July 2023 Mostly nocturnal, tapirs are herbivores who eat up to 75 pounds of leaves, plants and fruit daily.—Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 29 June 2023 Visitors can follow tapir tracks with the help of a local Bijaguan guide, rise early for a birding adventure, or do a nighttime jungle tour to glimpse nocturnal critters.—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 6 June 2023 See More
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: any of several plant-eating hoofed mammals of tropical America and southeastern Asia that are related to the horse and rhinoceros and have a long flexible snout, a very short tail, and short thick legs
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