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Patricia Medici, a TED Fellow, works with tapirs — the largest land mammal in South America. Photo: Marina Klink. If you want to call someone a “jackass” in Brazil, you call them a “tapir.” These large, forest-dwelling mammals look a bit like a cross between a wild boar and an anteater.
20 paź 2024 · Step into the vibrant landscapes of South America and you’ll encounter a fascinating array of creatures, each uniquely adapted to their environment. Among them are mammals with a particularly intriguing feature: a flexible snout.
Coatis (from Tupí), [1] also known as coatimundis (/ koʊˌɑːtɪˈmʌndi /), [2][3] are members of the family Procyonidae in the genera Nasua and Nasuella (comprising the subtribe Nasuina). They are diurnal mammals native to South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Southwestern United States.
Barrel-shaped, with short, bristly hair, tapirs are surprisingly nimble and are excellent at scrambling up steep riverbanks. They can also run and swim. It is thought they walk along river bottoms, much like hippos do. When frightened, tapirs can take to the water and breathe with their snout poked above the surface like a snorkel.
12 mar 2019 · The most notable characteristics of the South American coati are its long tail and its long, narrow snout. The tail is roughly the same length as the coati’s combined head and body length, and is often held erect in the air. The elongated muzzle turns slightly upwards and is very flexible.
8 kwi 2015 · A tapir is a large mammal with a barrel-shaped body and large head. Its most distinctive feature is its long nose, which is like a mini trunk. The nose is flexible, and prehensile (able to grip). Tapirs have hooved toes, short tails, and large, white-tipped ears. There are five species of tapir.
24 sty 2013 · Lowland tapirs can weigh up to 660 pounds, making them the largest terrestrial mammals in South America. Tapirs use their prehensile proboscis (a weird name for “snout”) to snatch up high...
