South American tapir calf trots through the grass

Nosing about the Amazon

For World Tapir Day, we're bringing you nose-to-nose with a baby South American tapir. The creamy stripes and dashes on its coat help keep this endangered calf camouflaged under the dappled light from Amazon trees. He may look small now, but mature tapirs are the largest native mammals in South America. About that nose: Tapirs use their prehensile nose trunk to grab plants and berries. And if they disappear under the water’s surface, some even use it as a snorkel.

We're marking World Tapir Day to highlight the need to protect these animals. As development eats away at their habitat, they - and other species - are put at greater risk.