Expedition 🇧🇷 Brazil
Tapir in Brazil
The living fossil — a prehistoric-looking herbivore with a short trunk that has changed little in millions of years.
The species
The South American tapir looks like something from the age of dinosaurs — a bulky, barrel-bodied herbivore with a flexible proboscis for grasping leaves and fruit. Tapirs have existed largely unchanged for tens of millions of years, outlasting megafauna extinctions.
Habitat in Brazil
Tropical rainforest, river margins, and wetland across the Amazon basin and Atlantic Forest hold South American tapirs. Brazil's Pantanal and Amazon parks offer the best chance of sightings.
Where to spot one
Pantanal
Mato Grosso do Sul
The world's largest tropical wetland — capybaras, jaguars, hyacinth macaws, and giant otters in open savanna.
Amazon Rainforest
Amazonas
Riverboat journeys through flooded forest — pink dolphins, sloths, and more species than anywhere else on Earth.
Iguaçu National Park
Paraná
Atlantic Forest beside the falls — toucans, coatis, and butterflies in subtropical jungle.
Tijuca National Park
Rio de Janeiro
Urban rainforest above Rio — howler monkeys and hummingbirds minutes from the city.
Conservation status
South American tapirs are Endangered, declining from deforestation, hunting, and road construction fragmenting Amazon habitat. Protected areas in Brazil remain key strongholds.
Free on iOS
Log the Tapir in Brazil
Spot one in the wild — scan it in Catch'Um to log your common discovery.