Extinct California Tapir (Tapirus californicus) Fact Sheet: Behavior & Ecology

Because direct observation of a fossil animal's behavior isn't possible, paleontologists use comparison and contrast with living animals for guidance. Tracks can sometimes reveal further clues to behavior. At a fossil site, the mix of plant and animal species gives clues to the ecosystem of that time and place.

•  Believed to be solitary and non-territorial (Janis 1984)

• Modern tapirs are recognized to have an important role in dispersing seeds and fertilizing fruiting trees (Downer 2001).
• Feeding habits of Pleistocene tapirs might have been similar.

• May have enjoyed mud wallowing like modern tapirs
• California tapir fossis have been found near Oceanside; at the same site, tracks of mammoth or mastodont were discovered in the Pleistocene lake-shore sediments. (Randal et al 2004)

Randal (2004)
Janis (1984)