The Central American Tapir or Danta is one of the four species of Tapir that exist in the planet, and its situation is compromised in all its area of distribution; the genus Tapirus is the only one left of the Tapiridae family.

The Tapir is approximately 7 feet long and weighs between 330 to 700 lb. It has a stout body and large head and neck, which it uses to go through the undergrowth of the tropical forest.

Its main predators, besides human beings, are big felines as the Jaguar. One of the best ways it has to defend itself from them is to run through the undergrowth as fast as it can, making the Jaguars hit the branches with its head and stop chasing it.

Nowadays, 3 of the 4 species of Tapir live in America:
• The Northern Tapir; which can be found from Tehuantepec to Ecuador
• The Andean Tapir; living in the northern Andes Mountains, and
• The Brazilian Tapir; which can be found in northern South America.

The fourth species is the Malayan Tapir located in Southeast Asia. The difference between this species and the ones in America, is its black and white skin, as a Panda Bear, as well as its longer trunk.

Some of its biological characteristics, among them its low reproductive rate and its low population density, make that factors as uncontrolled hunting and habitat fragmentation affect its populations severely.

In Mexico, only two zoos have a conservation program for the Tapir, the Guadalajara and the Chiapas Zoos; and now Xcaret in Quintana Roo.

The male Tapir arrived to Xcaret in 2003 and the female in 2006. We are now trying to join them in the same exhibition so you can admire both at the same time. We hope that by the year 2010 they will procreate at least one baby.

Come visit our adorable friend Poloc, which means chubby in Maya, and meet one of the rarest and less known species at Xcaret ecological park.