Tapir

Tapirs ( TAY-pər) are large herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk (proboscis). Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America and Southeast Asia. They are one of three extant branches of Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), alongside equines and rhinoceroses. Only a single genus, Tapirus, is extant. Tapirs migrated into South America from North America during the Pleistocene epoch after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama as part of the Great American Interchange. Tapirs were present across North America, but became extinct in the region at the end of the Late Pleistocene, around 12,000 years ago.