# Mountain tapir (*Tapirus pinchaque*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-tapir  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 148.9 kg – 243 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 27.8 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 28.5 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 390 days – 400 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 19 months – 3.05 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.665 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Perissodactyla
- family: Tapiridae
- genus: Tapirus
- species: *Tapirus pinchaque* (Roulin, 1829)

Synonyms: *Tapir pinchaque*, *Tapirus ecuadorensis*, *Tapirus terrestris peruvianus*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mountain-tapir