Malayan tapir
Amazing fact
Young Malayan tapirs have whitish stripes and spots.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Young Malayan tapirs have whitish stripes and spots.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Malayan tapir
- Scientific name
- Tapirus indicus
- Japanese name
- マレーバク
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Perissodactyla
- Family
- Tapiridae
- Genus
- Tapirus
It lives in Southeast Asia; it soaks in water to cool off and escapes into the water when it senses danger.
Its black-and-white pattern makes its black head and legs hard to see in the dark forest, hiding the outline of its body.
Its soft, long nose, formed by the nose and upper lip joined together, pulls leaves, twigs and grass to its mouth.
How the Malayan tapir lives
They rest by day and travel widely to feed at dawn and dusk. They move in a zigzag while feeding on plants. Apart from mothers and young, they usually live alone. They often leave droppings in the water.
多摩動物公園University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebBasic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 2.3–2.5 mShoulder height: 0.9–1 m
- Weight
- about 350 kg
- Diet
- Branches and leaves, fruit, grass, and aquatic plants
- Range
- Southeast Asia and Sumatra
Where the Malayan tapir has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- マレーバク
- 简体中文
- 马来貘
- 繁體中文
- 馬來貘
- 한국어
- 말레이맥
- Español
- Tapir Malayo
- Français
- Tapir à dos blanc
- Deutsch
- Schabrackentapir
- Português (Brasil)
- Tapir-da-malásia
- Italiano
- Tapiro dalla gualdrappa
- العربية
- تابير مالاوي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Tapir tenuk
- Tiếng Việt
- Lợn vòi
- Русский
- Чепрачный тапир
- Türkçe
- Hint tapiri
- ไทย
- สมเสร็จมลายู
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 多摩動物公園 — マレーバクChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Tapirus indicusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Malayan tapir, look for this
- Look for the ears edged with white fur.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Malayan tapir
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Kanto
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
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Others in Tapiridae
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