#0321 · 🦊 mammals
South American Tapir
🇳🇱 Laaglandtapir ·Tapirus terrestris
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Robin Gwen Agarwal · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Carlos Sanchez · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Jens-Christian Svenning · CC BY 4.0
- 4. © pfaucher · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. © João Vitor Andriola · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Paul Donahue · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. © Jéssica Martins · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 8. © sylvere corre · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 9. © Jéssica Martins · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 10. © Joachim S. Müller · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
what is it?
The South American tapir ( Tapirus terrestris ), also commonly called the Brazilian tapir (from the Tupi tapi'ira ), the maned tapir , the lowland tapir , in Portuguese anta , and in mixed Quechua and Spanish sachavaca (literally "bushcow"), is one of the five species in the tapir family, along with the mountain tapir, the Malayan tapir, Baird's tapir, and the little black tapir. The South American tapir is the largest surviving native terrestrial mammal in the Amazon.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 5,359 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Weighs up to about 200 kg.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
- Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
fact sheet
- English
- South American Tapir
- Nederlands
- Laaglandtapir
- scientific name
- Tapirus terrestris
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Perissodactyla
- family
- Tapiridae
- IUCN Red List
- VU · vulnerable
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings worldwide
- 5,359
- GBIF records in NL
- 0
- weight
- 200 kg
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: kwetsbaar. Blank means the sources don't say.
relatives· Tapiridae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 43353, Wikidata Q220271, GBIF 2440898, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.