The bush cow (Tapir)

Nov 27, 2022 Interesting Creatures in Guyana, News

Interesting creature…

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – Known as the ‘bush cow’ in Guyana, the Tapir is one of the largest living land mammals in the country’s tropical forest.

If you might have spent some time in the interior locations of Guyana then you were probably lucky enough to spot one foraging on some wild plants in the open grasslands. Perhaps you might have even tasted its meat in some spicy tuma (Amerindian dish) or seen a little indigenous girl cuddling a young white striped tapir calf as a pet in her arms.

A baby tapir (photo credits shutterstock)

An adult lowland tapir. (photo credits shutterstock)

However, what makes this creature very interesting is its unique and strange look. In fact, scientists have labeled it as the one of the strangest looking animals on the planet, describing it as a mixture of a wild hog and an elephant.

In Thailand they have named it ‘P’som-sett,’ which means ‘mixture is finished’ because the people there said that the tapir looks like a blend of whatever parts were left over from other animals.

Biologists also believe and have often referred to tapirs as living ‘fossils’ that have been around for millions of years. Tapirs are also closely related to Zebras, Rhinos and horses but unlike their cousins, they are equipped to live and adapt to almost any living habitat.

There are four main species of tapir but the ones that made their home in Guyana and other South American countries are the lowland tapirs with the scientific name tapirus terrestris.

Lowland tapirs are dark brown with lighter patches around their cheeks, throat and ears. They are stockier than other species of tapir due to the thick mane of fur that extends down their back and it is thought that this mane acts to protect them from predators, like jaguars, which target the neck area when hunting.

The rest of their features are similar to that of the other species. They all have a long snout that looks like a mini-elephant trunk. The snout, according to scientists, is a prehensile that it used to wrap and grab its food, especially morsels that seem to be hard to reach. Young tapir calves are slightly different from the adults because they are born with white stripes and it is believed this camouflage look is a disguise to protect them from predators.

In terms of size, tapirs can grow up to 2.5 meters long and can weigh up to 700 pounds. To maintain its enormous size these animals eat some 75 pounds of food every day.

They are herbivores and would feed on fruits, plants, grasses and even aquatic plants and there is nothing stopping them from finding food in and under water.

Tapirs have specially designed web feet that make them excellent swimmers and they also have the ability to hold their breath for long periods under water.

In some areas of Guyana, Tapirs could be found in rivers foraging all day close to banks and would leave the water at nights to rest on land.

Like all other animals, Tapirs have mating seasons. They would reach sexual maturity at three-years-old and would normally mate in April, May or June.

Females go through a gestation period of 13 months and will typically have one offspring every two years. A newborn lowland tapir weighs about 15 pounds and will be weaned in about six months and according to scientists these “living fossils” can live up to 30-years-old.

Sources of information: Surprising Facts About Tapirs (treehugger.com)