MAY 27 — Malayan Tapir, or Tapirus indicus, is native to Southeast Asia, specifically Peninsular Malaysia, southern Thailand, Myanmar, and Sumatra (Indonesia). It is the only tapir species found in this region, while three other tapir species occur in South and Central America.

The Malayan tapir, locally known as tenuk or cipan, is easily recognised by its distinctive body colouration, featuring a large white patch across the middle of its body, with a black head and hindquarters. This “black-and-white giant” of Southeast Asia inhabits tropical lowland forests and swamps and is sometimes found in rubber and oil palm plantations.

The Malayan tapir is a crucial “umbrella species” in the ecosystem. An umbrella species is one whose conservation indirectly protects many other species sharing the same habitat; therefore, conserving habitats that support the Malayan tapir also helps preserve overall biodiversity within those ecosystems.

The first reason as to why the Malayan tapir is an “umbrella species” is due to its morphology. It has a rounded barrel-shaped body, short, sturdy legs, wide, cushioned feet, and a flexible snout known as a primitive proboscis. Its black-and-white colouring also helps with camouflage in the forest. The tapir is a “living fossil” because its ancient body structure has remained largely unchanged over millions of years, in contrast to many other animals that have evolved specialised features for hunting or escaping predators. It has existed for millions of years and managed to survive major environmental changes throughout Earth’s history.

During the Pliocene epoch, around 5.3 to 2.6 million years ago, early tapir relatives evolved and spread across Eurasia, Africa, and North America. Fossils such as skulls and teeth have been discovered in Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, proving that tapirs were once widely distributed around the world.

During the Ice Age peak, tapirs adapted and survived in forest refuges despite extreme cold conditions that caused many species to become extinct. Tapirs are among the oldest surviving animal lineages in the world with only four species left today.

Secondly, due to its frugivorous diet, it plays an important role as a seed disperser and “gardener” of the forest. This species is a herbivore that feeds on leaves, shoots, twigs, shrubs, and fruits. Tapirs help spread seeds through their faeces, allowing new plants to grow in different locations.

The Malayan tapir is an important forest animal that helps maintain healthy ecosystems through its feeding behaviour. It feeds in a zig-zag pattern, eating small amounts from many different plants instead of staying in one area. This selective browsing helps prevent overfeeding on plants and supports forest diversity.

Tapirs play an important role in forest regeneration and ecosystem balance because they consume many plant species. Malayan tapirs can eat more than 200 plant species from 49 plant families, thus making them significant contributors to ecosystem balance. Its habit of eating different types of plants helps tapirs avoid consuming too many toxins from a single plant species.

Besides, the important ecological role of this large mammal is acting as an “architect” of the habitat. By moving through dense vegetation with its large body, which can weigh up to 320 kilograms, it creates trails that are later used by smaller forest animals. In addition, moving between different areas helps maintain forest diversity by preventing excessive damage to one part of the forest.

Despite its ecological importance, the Malayan tapir is listed as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List with fewer than 2,500 mature individuals remaining globally. The species is also slow breeding, with a gestation period of approximately 13 to 13.5 months, and females typically produce only one calf every two years. The mother then nurses and protects its calf for about a year before it grows, learns survival skills, and becomes independent. The next pregnancy for the mother is expected to happen again after three to four years.

Its population continues to decline due to various threats, including habitat loss, human–wildlife conflict, poaching, deforestation, and road accidents. In Malaysia, this species is fully protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010. Without a special permit, it is illegal to hunt, possess, or trade any part or derivative of fully protected wildlife species.

The Malaysian Government, through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (Perhilitan), has implemented several conservation initiatives, including in-situ and ex-situ management, conservation research, education and public awareness programmes, and law enforcement efforts. For ex-situ conservation, a Malayan tapir breeding programme has been established at the Wildlife Conservation Centre Sungai Dusun. A small number of Malayan tapirs have also been transferred to zoos under memoranda of understanding to support the conservation and welfare of the species.

Several research projects have been done to understand this species better, including physiology, genetics, anatomy, medical care, and behaviour. One of the conservation research projects done on this species is molecular ecology. This can be accomplished by using water samples collected from the wild to identify species that visited the stream, the scat of an animal in the wild to identify the host DNA, and the diet and gut microbiome of the species. Other samples include hair snags, saliva from salt licks, and a small amount of their tissues.

Most importantly, the Malaysian Government has introduced a 10-year strategic framework known as the Malayan Tapir Conservation Action Plan (MaTCAP) 2021-2030, aimed at addressing the major threats facing the Malayan tapir population. This initiative was developed by Perhilitan Peninsular Malaysia to strengthen conservation efforts, enhance law enforcement, and reduce human-tapir conflict.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.

*Kim Catalina Richard is a postgraduate student and Assoc. Prof. Dr Hasmahzaiti Omar is a lecturer at the Institute of Biological Sciences, Universiti Malaya.