Tapirs (extant/living species; Tapirus spp.) Fact Sheet: Reproduction & Development

• Male produces wheezing/huffing sounds or shrill whistling; may spray urine
• Male and female stand nose to tail; sniffing genitals and begin circling movement

• Non-seasonal
• Sexual maturity: c. 2 years; male and female
• Estrus cycle: c. 30 days; varies with species in the wild
• Copulating tapirs bite one another on flanks/ears (also common in horses and zebras)
• Often mate in water
• After mating female may become aggressive – chasing male

• 13 months (390-400 days)
• Female becomes restless, selects safe birthing area
• Stands up during birth – single infant is born head first
  • Twins are extremely rare
• Birth interval: 18 months in zoos
  • May be significantly shorter in wild
• 14 months in wild with good food availability (Eisenberg et al. 1990)

Birth

• Eyes open at birth
• Stands 1-2 hours after birth
• 14-25 lbs birth (6-11 kg) (Todd and Matola 2001)
• Mother licks clean and encourages newborn to stand

Infant (< 1 year old)

• Shelters alone while mother forages
• Follows mother c. 1 week
• Striped coat begins to fade at 5 months
• Remains with mother 10-11 months

Subadult

• Adult coat by 10-11 months

Adult

• 2-3 years

Managed care

• Baird's tapir
  • No AZA estimates
• Malayan tapir
  • Median life expectancy
    • 18.2 years (male, female data combined) (AZA 2024)

In order to hide during their early months of life, young tapirs look very different from their parents.

Tapirs have a long reproductive cycle, having only one young every 14-18 months.

Image credit: © San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. All rights reserved.

Eisenberg et al. (1990)
Janssen et al. (1999)
Todd and Matola (2001)