Mountain tapir
Tapirus pinchaque (Roulin, 1829)
The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), also called Andean tapir or Woolly tapir, is a mammal of the family Tapiridae in the order Perissodactyla. It is a large, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore with a representative adult body mass of 148.9 kg and reported values up to 243 kg.
Quick facts about the mountain tapir
Each litter has 1 young after a gestation period of 390 to 400 days, and age at sexual maturity ranges from 1.6 to 3.0 years. The IUCN Red List classifies it as Endangered, a threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 27.8 years, with values up to 28.5 years.
- Weight
- 148.9 kg – 243 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 27.8 years – 28.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 390 days – 400 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 19 months – 3.05 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.665src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the mountain tapir
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the mountain tapir live?
Not recorded
What is the mountain tapir?
The mountain tapir, also known as the Andean tapir or woolly tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), is the smallest of the four widely recognized species of tapir. It is found only in certain portions of the Andean Mountain Range in northwestern South America. As such, it is the only tapir species to live outside of tropical rainforests in the wild. It is most easily distinguished from other tapirs by its thick woolly coat and white lips.
The species name comes from the term "Pinchaque", an imaginary beast said to inhabit the same regions as the mountain tapir.
From the Wikipedia article “Mountain tapir” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mountain_tapir&oldid=1380344133), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the mountain tapir endangered?
The mountain tapir is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the mountain tapir classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderPerissodactyla
- familyTapiridae
- genusTapirus
- SpeciesTapirus pinchaque (Roulin, 1829)
Synonyms Tapir pinchaque, Tapirus ecuadorensis, Tapirus terrestris peruvianus
Other names and names in other languages (46)
- Andean tapirEnglish
- Andean tapirEnglish
- Woolly tapirEnglish
- Woolly tapirEnglish
- تابير جبليArabic
- Tapir de muntanyaCatalan
- tapír horskýCzech
- BjergtapirDanish
- WolltapirGerman
- AndentapirGerman
- Ορεινός ΤάπιροςGreek
- PinchaqueSpanish
- Danta apizarradaSpanish
- Danta CordilleranaSpanish
- Danta De MontaSpanish
- Danta de MontañaSpanish
- Danta de PáramoSpanish
- Danta LanudaSpanish
- Danta NegraSpanish
- Gran BestiaSpanish
- Tapir AndinoSpanish
- Tapir de los AndesSpanish
- Tapir de montañaSpanish
- Tapir de PáramoSpanish
- MägitaapirEstonian
- andientapiiriFinnish
- Tapir des AndesFrench
- Tapir pinchaqueFrench
- טפיר הריםHebrew
- Planinski tapirCroatian
- hegyi tapírHungarian
- Tapiro delle AndeItalian
- ヤマバクJapanese
- 산맥Korean
- Kalninis tapyrasLithuanian
- AndestapirNorwegian Bokmål
- FjelltapirNorwegian Bokmål
- BergtapirDutch
- tapir górskiPolish
- Anta-andinaPortuguese
- Горный тапирRussian
- สมเสร็จภูเขาThai
- Dağ tapiriTurkish
- Гірський тапірUkrainian
- Тапір гірськийUkrainian
- 山貘Chinese
Relatives of the mountain tapir
Other species in the same genus Tapirus.
CompareMountain tapir vs South American tapirMountain tapir vs Tapirus webbiMountain tapir vs Tapirus lundeliusiMountain tapir vs Tapirus leucogenys
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the mountain tapir?
The mountain tapir is a mammal in the family Tapiridae and the order Perissodactyla. It is also called the Andean tapir or Woolly tapir.
How heavy is the mountain tapir?
The mountain tapir has a representative adult body mass of 148.9 kg, with values up to 243 kg reported, placing it in the large size class.
What does the mountain tapir eat?
The mountain tapir is a herbivore.
Is the mountain tapir endangered?
Yes. The mountain tapir is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does the mountain tapir live?
The lifespan of the mountain tapir is given as 27.8 years, with values up to 28.5 years reported.
How many young does the mountain tapir have?
The mountain tapir has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 394 days.
Is the mountain tapir active at night?
Yes. The mountain tapir is nocturnal and terrestrial.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-tapir
“Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-tapir.
@misc{mountain_tapir_2026,
title = {Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-tapir},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}