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South American or Brazilian Tapir

South American Tapir and young line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

South American Tapir and young full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The South American Tapir was completed on 6/23/2009. This illustration was commissioned by a private client in Belize, and will be used for a t-shirt illustration for the National Zoo in Belize City. The drawing is a composite of a couple reference photos from my Flickr friends. This is the second tapir I've drawn, the other being the Malayan Tapir. In both cases the images were drawing with offspring, which I generally do not do.

Information about the South American Tapir:

The South American Tapir - also called the Lowland or Brazilian Tapir - is the second largest tapir on the continent, after the Baird's Tapir. They can grow to about 5.9 to 8.2 feet in length (1.8 to 2.5 m) and weigh in about 500 pounds (225 kg) These mammals inhabit jungle and forest regions, usually not far from water. They are excellent swimmers, but also move very well on land, even in rugged terrains like hills and mountains. The tapir is a herbivore. It uses its sensitive and mobile snout to get leaves, buds, shoots, and small branches that it tears from trees, fruit, grasses, and aquatic plants. It is considered endangered or vulnerable due to poaching and habitat loss.