Endangered Species Spotlight: Malayan Tapir

From its appearance and diet to the threats it faces and conservation efforts, here’s everything you need to know about the Malayan tapir.

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The Malayan, or Asian, tapir is one of four extant species of tapir, and the only one found outside of the Americas. Closely related to Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceroses) and Equidae (zebras and horses) by virtue of their shared order, Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), tapirs have just three toes on their hind legs and sport long, prehensile snouts that support a herbivorous diet. 

Although the species has a relatively wide distribution range, found across Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand, the Malayan tapir has suffered significant population declines due to habitat loss and fragmentation, frequently falling victim to poaching, snare traps, and the effects of urban development. As a result, this unique mammal has been classified as ‘Endangered’ under the IUCN Red List since 1986.

1. Appearance 

Malayan tapirs are the largest of all four tapir species, with adults weighing up to 350 kilograms and reaching lengths of up to 2.4 metres. Their heavy, barrel-shaped bodies, thick skin and coarse hair are well adapted to navigate through dense vegetation in an effective, streamlined fashion. Fully matured individuals have black heads and forelimbs, a white middle, and black rear limbs; a unique colouration often likened to an Oreo cookie and hypothesised to serve as a form of camouflage, fragmenting the animal’s outline amongst forest shadows. Juveniles have brown hair with irregular white stripes and spots, a distinctive pattern similarly believed to aid with blending into forest foliage and dappled sunlight.

Tapirs have slightly elongated snouts, referred to as prehensile probosces, that function similarly to the trunks of elephants; flexible appendages that combine both the nose and the upper lip of the animal, which can be used to grasp things. Tapirs use their snouts to forage for food, plucking shoots, leaves and fruits from bushes, and as snorkels when submerged underwater.

Although tapirs are members of the order Perissodactyla (odd-toed ungulates), the Tapiridae are unique as they retain the ancestral structure of tetradactyl perissodactyls; they have three toes on their hind legs but four toes on their forelegs. Known as unguligrade locomotion, tapirs walk on the terminal bones of their toes, with enlarged toenails forming their hoofs. This adaptation increases the stride length and speed of tapirs, allowing them to run quickly in short bursts. To aid with traction when traversing mud, shorelines and hillsides, the toes of tapirs are splayed out.

2. Diet

A mixed and opportunistic feeder, the herbivorous tapir uses its prehensile snout for plucking leaves, shoots and fruits from branches and low shrubs (browsing), as well as for rooting around for fallen fruit and leaves within the undergrowth (grazing). Malayan tapirs feed on over 380 different species of vegetation, and have been observed breaking eight- to 10-meter long trees in order to reach tender leaves, buds and soft twigs. Primarily nocturnal, tapirs use their large bodies to wear down tunnel-shaped paths through dense vegetation, feeding in both wooded, grassy areas and around sources of water. The species also feeds on aquatic plants, spending a substantial amount of time in and around lakes, rivers and ponds.

As with all perissodactyls, the Malayan tapir is a herbivorous, hindgut fermenter. Also known as cecal digestion, hindgut fermentation refers to the digestion of food in the cecum (a pouch within the large intestine), primarily through microbial fermentation. This adaptation serves as a significant advantage to herbivorous species like the tapir, as it allows for better digestion and nutrient extraction from fibrous vegetation that is otherwise indigestible. Tapirs are thus able to survive in habitats with lower quality food sources, consuming large quantities of lower-nutrient food throughout the entire day and processing them rapidly.

3. Habitat & Behavior 

The Malayan tapir is found on the Indonesia island of Sumatra, across the Malayan Peninsula, along the western coast and peninsular south of Thailand, as well as in Myanmar, with the species’ occurrence divided into three sub-populations: Thailand-Myanmar; Southern Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia; and Sumatra. Although these sub-populations are relatively distinct and somewhat isolated across a wide distribution range, they cannot be genetically differentiated. 

Commonly referred to as “living fossils”, tapirs have existed since the Eocene epoch, approximately 56 million years ago, and have changed little since then, surviving multiple waves of extinction. Their unique lineage is amongst the oldest of extant mammals.

Malayan tapirs are primarily found in humid, tropical forests, both primary and secondary, as well as within wetland regions. They typically inhabit lower montane forests. However, populations in Malaysia and Sumatra have been found at altitudes of 1,600 to 2,000 meters. Studies on the Malayan tapir’s northernmost range in Thailand, which experiences a distinctive dry season, has indicated that the species has climatic limitations, with this population shifting from a wide-ranging altitudinal occurrence to being restricted to altitudes with high levels of humidity as seasons change. This need for humidity as a key habitat component may also explain why tapirs are not found in regions with a pronounced dry season of forests, such as Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Nocturnal by nature, the Malayan tapir has poor eyesight and thus relies on its keen sense of smell to forage in the dark. Although the species has been widely described as solitary, displaying aggression towards other tapirs except for females with offspring or when in a mating pair, recent studies have suggested otherwise. 

Tapirs have been observed foraging in small groups or pairs, with some travelling across wider ranges than was previously believed. Intraspecific communication often occurs through high-pitched whistles, as well as through urine marking, which tapirs will use to outline paths throughout the forest and determine the presence of other tapirs to avoid confrontation. Despite their large build, Malayan tapirs are strong swimmers and spend a substantial amount of time in the water, keeping cool and feeding on aquatic vegetation. Able to use their elongated snouts as snorkels, tapirs will submerge themselves fully underwater as a means of predator avoidance. They are also seen wallowing in mud to remove skin parasites from their hides, such as ticks, and to prevent insect bites.

4. Ecological Importance 

Commonly referred to as “gardeners of the rainforest”, Malayan tapirs play an important role in supporting the vitality of their surrounding ecosystems. By consuming large quantities of vegetation on a daily basis, and given the wide variety of plant species that tapirs feed on, these hefty herbivores disperse numerous seeds through their faeces, supporting the growth of new plants and trees across the forest. This is especially important for the regeneration of slow-growing trees that sequester large quantities of carbon. 

Malayan tapirs also affect the structure and health of forest habitats by regularly pruning vegetation, creating pathways through dense foliage with their large, barrel-shaped bodies that other animals can use, and clearing spaces to support the growth of new plant life. 

The Malayan tapir is widely regarded as a keystone species with low functional redundancy, as the crucial, unique role that they play in seed dispersal and the modification of forest structures would not easily be adopted by another species in the event of the tapir’s extinction. Further regarded as an umbrella species, the conservation of tapirs and their natural habitat would benefit numerous other species found within the same ecosystems, such as deer, monkeys, wild cats, reptiles and birds. If Malayan tapir populations continue declining across their range, their absence is predicted to have significant impacts on the diversity, vitality and structure of the habitats and ecosystems they currently belong to.

5. Threats

The Malayan tapir has been listed as Endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List since 1986, with populations having further decreased by over 50% since then. 

Largely driven by the widespread loss of prime forest habitat, the rate of decline in tapir populations is inferred to be proportional to the depletion of tropical rainforest cover in Southeast Asia over the same period of time. As forests are cleared for logging and resource concessions, palm and rubber plantations, as well as for agricultural lands, the development of the urban infrastructure like roads and human settlements necessary to support these businesses create secondary, indirect threats to Malayan tapirs, such as road accidents, easier access for poachers and snare trappers, and the fragmentation of remaining habitats.

With the species’ total population estimated at fewer than 2,500 mature individuals, and with a predicted decline of approximately 20% in the next 20 years, the Malayan tapir faces a substantial risk of extinction without the implementation of effective conservation measures.

The large-scale conversion of primary forests into palm oil plantations throughout Southeast Asia has had significant, devastating effects on the ecosystems they inevitably destroy in the process. 

Tapirs are unable to survive within these single-crop habitats due to the complete loss of biodiversity and depletion of food sources they cause, with the extensive use of pesticides and herbicides further exposing the species to the threat of poisoning through contaminated water or food. Prone to wandering and to displacement by fellow tapirs, individuals that venture into plantations and urban areas are at greater risk of injury or death from human retaliation, vehicle collisions, poaching, and accidental snare trapping. 

Studies have found a strong correlation between the development of plantations and the increase in tapir mortalities by road accidents. Logging activities, however, appear not to cause a significant disturbance to tapir populations. Recent studies in Malaysia have found tapirs in a wide range of forest types, including logged, disturbed, and isolated areas. It is believed that this is due to the tapir’s preference for feeding in open areas with greater availability of browsing vegetation.

Notably, some regions across the Malayan tapir’s endemic range have reported success in reducing their annual rates of deforestation, according to the IUCN. In Malaysia, approximately 43% of the country’s total forest cover remains undisturbed and appears stable, half of which is deemed to be tapir habitat. In Thailand, although 40% of forests are found outside of protected areas, these are mainly degraded habitats, with most primary forests falling within protected areas and the majority of the region’s tapir population occurring within these well-protected national parks and reserves. Indonesia, which stands as one of the world’s largest palm oil producers, witnessed a 64% drop in deforestation rates between 2015 and 2017, as well as between 2020 and 2022. 

Nevertheless, despite these promising trends, and although the potential of sustainably grown palm oil has garnered increasing awareness over the past two decades with the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil having been founded in 2004, the global scale of forest loss has actually accelerated in recent years. 

In Myanmar, a mere 5% of the country’s total land area is protected forest. Myanmar’s tapir population is largely restricted to the forests within the Tenasserim Range, which, until recently, were inaccessible to conservationists due to the years of civil unrest that the country has suffered. In 2002, the government proposed the creation of two protected areas within the Tenasserim region, Taninthayi National Park and Lenya River Wildlife Sanctuary, although only the latter is currently protected from forest clearance.

Exacerbating the devastating impacts of deforestation is the fact that remaining viable habitats are discontinuous and highly fragmented, leaving small, isolated tapir subpopulations vulnerable to inbreeding and genetic bottlenecks. 

In Sumatra, approximately 50% of remaining forests are currently inaccessible to Malayan tapirs, falling outside of their natural range. Along the Thai-Myanmar border, most subpopulations are estimated to hold no more than 50 to 100 individuals, with smaller, highly isolated groups only numbering ten to 15 individuals. At present, these subpopulations have no way of travelling to other suitable habitats or protected regions to breed with other groups, and will therefore inevitably cause their genetic diversity to decline over time. 

In 2009, the Federal Government of Malaysia proposed the creation of a “Central Forest Spine”, aimed at restoring and strengthening the connectivity between main forest regions and conservation landscapes on Peninsular Malaysia. Nevertheless, studies have found that subpopulations in the southern states, such as Johor, Negeri, Sembilan and southern Selangor, have become increasingly fragmented, thereby diminishing any chance of these habitats ever forming part of the proposed Central Forest Spine. Numbering a mere three to five individuals in some cases, these subpopulations have been deemed functionally extinct. 

A further, growing threat to Malayan tapirs in recent years has been hunting and indiscriminate trapping. As other species of large mammals decline across Southeast Asia’s forests, hunters have begun targeting tapirs as a food source, according to the IUCN, with tapir meat occasionally seen in local markets in Sumatra. 

Nevertheless, it is not a popular food amongst locals, and there is currently no evidence of systematic hunting practices for the species. It is believed that most tapirs sold for consumption are unintentionally captured as bycatch in snare traps, roadkill, or in conflicts with locals. Certain forest tribes within Thailand and Myanmar believe that the killing of tapirs is bad luck, whilst in Malaysia, consumption of tapir meat is forbidden by the national Islamic authority. When apprehended by local Malaysian authorities, most poachers appear to be from Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand, with little known about their motives for capturing tapirs. In Sumatra, tapirs were previously caught in the wild and traded through zoos across Indonesia, occasionally sold to private buyers or to local meat markets as well, however this practice appears to have ceased in 2008.

6. Conservation Efforts

The Malayan tapir is currently listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and is protected across most of its endemic range by national legislation: Thailand’s Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act of 2019; Malaysia’s Wildlife Conservation Act of 2010; Indonesia’s Government Regulation No. 7 of 1999; and Myanmar’s Protection of Wildlife and Conservation of Natural Areas Law (1994). Although this unique mammal has been awarded the highest level of protection under each of these legislative measures, which criminalize the deliberate killing, trade, or capture of tapirs, they fall short of addressing the primary threats of habitat loss and fragmentation. As a result, they are limited in their capacity to fully protect, revive and maintain tapir populations.

At present, Malayan tapirs are amongst the least studied mammals in Southeast Asia, despite their long-standing status as an endangered species. While the effects of habitat disturbance, loss and conversion on the species are yet to be understood fully, there have been an increasing number of studies into the Malayan tapir’s ecology in recent years, with the results of these analyses potentially aiding in the creation of effective national conservation strategies.  

Due to their success in establishing comprehensive networks of protected areas, the tapir subpopulation of Malaysia and Thailand is perhaps the most accessible for monitoring and data collection. Thailand has established over 200 national parks, covering 17% of the country’s land area, with most of the Malayan tapir’s range falling within these protected areas. However, in a 2024 study, researchers found that tapirs occurred in higher abundances in Southern Thailand, despite a greater degree of habitat fragmentation.

The study posited that this was due to the fact that the major forest type in Southern Thailand is moist evergreen forest, with higher precipitation levels and elevations, where tapirs are able to remain away from the forest edges. The Western forest complex of Thailand holds larger, continuous forest habitats – although these are mostly deciduous forest, dry evergreen forest, and dipterocarp forest, with decreased elevational ranges and annual precipitation levels. While not the preferred habitat of Malayan tapirs, the Western forest complex is of critical importance to the biodiversity of Thailand as it is connected to transboundary forests within Myanmar, with researchers hypothesising that the significant allocation of conservation resources within this region has contributed to the low degree of habitat fragmentation observed. 

The study highlighted that, although smaller, fragmented areas are not necessarily better for tapirs, due to the risk of further habitat loss, depletion of genetic diversity, and proximity to urban infrastructure, the species’ persistence and abundance in these disturbed, fragmented or urban forests warrants greater conservation efforts to improve habitat quality and increase connectivity in these regions. 

In Malaysia, the Malayan tapir’s current distribution occurs primarily within protected areas in the four major forest complexes of the Central Forest Spine (CFS), with the remaining population persisting in isolated, fragmented forest areas outside of the CFS. In June 2022, a workshop was held for government bodies, zoos, higher education institutions, NGOs, and individuals in the field of Malayan tapir conservation to discuss the status of tapir conservation across three range states (Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand), and provide the opportunity for cooperative action. It was revealed that, despite years of field research, there was insufficient data and information on Malayan tapir populations, their distribution, biology and ecology across their entire endemic range. As a result, the Malaysian Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources approved the Malayan Tapir Conservation Action Plan (2022), aimed at implementing conservation measures for the protection of the species, such as: habitat and population management; the enhancement of law enforcement; education and public awareness initiatives; and further research studies.

Since the implementation of the plan, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks of Peninsular Malaysia (PERHILITAN) has responded to public complaints about tapirs in an effort to minimize conflict, translocating displaced tapirs back to suitable forest habitats to reduce the risk of human retaliation or road accidents. The Malaysian Public Works department has created elevated roads and extended bridges that facilitate the movement of wildlife via underpasses to avoid collisions with vehicles, which appear to have benefitted tapirs, sun bears, guar, elephants and tigers. 

Having identified the Sungai Dusun Wildlife Reserve as a prime habitat and potential sanctuary for released tapirs, the PERHILITAN has begun replanting the Malayan tapir’s preferred plant species within the reserve to further support population increases and prevent instances of displacement caused by searches for food sources. 

In a joint patrolling initiative between the Malaysian Army, police force, and PERHILTAN, the Biodiversity Protection and Patrol Programme aims to combat instances of poaching by conducting monthly snare operations and patrols of protected forests. The PERHILITAN has further established the Institute for Biodiversity, which conducts education and public awareness programmes that are aimed at promoting a positive perspective on environmental conservation and biodiversity. In addition to celebrating World Tapir Day annually, collaborative efforts with the Malayan Nature Society have resulted in education initiatives being implemented in schools, universities and local communities. Lastly, research studies conducted by PERHILITAN, in collaboration with the Copenhagen Zoo and Universiti Putra Malaysia, aim to shed light on the population, distribution, feeding habits, behaviour, ecology, and genetics of the Malayan tapir.

According to the IUCN, Indonesia in 2013 developed a National Tapir Conservation Action Plan with several primary aims, including population monitoring; habitat protection; community engagement and education; population management in fragmented habitats, and research. Although there is little evidence of its implementation or efficacy across the country, aforementioned reports of decreased deforestation rates across Indonesia are a promising indication of governmental efforts. 

The establishment of the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has also influenced significant changes in the practices of palm oil businesses across Indonesia and Malaysia, with many committing to maintaining the environmental protection and conservation standards necessary to achieve an RSPO certification. The Indonesia Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) certification aims at promoting economic, environmental and social sustainability through good agricultural practices, resource management, biodiversity conservation, social responsibility, and transparency. Malaysia also holds its own national certification system (MSPO), supporting similar initiatives. Together, Indonesia and Malaysia account for over 80% of the global output of palm oil. By 2022, 25% of Indonesia’s total plantation area achieved ISPO certification, and by 2024, 88% of Malaysia’s total palm oil production was MSPO-certified. In 2023, approximately 20.1% of the global palm oil production was certified sustainable palm oil, with 79.8% contributed by Malaysia and Indonesia.

Given the fact that deforestation and habitat fragmentation persist as the Malayan tapir’s primary threats, current trends in sustainable palm oil production constitute a positive step towards a growing global interest in habitat conservation and the protection of biodiversity across Southeast Asia. With the continued implementation of conservation measures that are consistently improving by virtue of a greater understanding of the Malayan tapir, this unique species can be revived throughout its endemic range, thereby protecting the vitality and biodiversity of the ecosystems they call home.

How You Can Help

• Opt for products that contain and promote sustainable palm oil. Keep an eye out for products that use the RSPO trademark, or display the label of “RSPO certified” or “this product contains certified sustainable palm oil”.
• Reduce your use of paper and wood. Go paperless wherever possible, opt for reusable products, and ensure that any wood products that you purchase come from responsibly managed forests. Organisations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certify responsibly sourced wood products. 
• Spread the word. Educate yourself and those around you about the importance of the Malayan tapir, the threats they face, and engage with conservation organizations that support the protection of these incredible mammals across their range.

Featured image: Allison Giguere/Flickr.