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May 6, 2020: Baird's Tapir, Costa Rica

 

Our guides were astonished to see this tapir standing on a sandy river bank, near the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica.  One said that in five years of guiding, he'd never spotted a tapir, and that we were very lucky to have seen it.  

04 Trip to Turtle Bay (59)

04 Trip to Turtle Bay (64)

This is a Baird's tapir, which grows to almost 2 meters in length -- the size of a tall man -- making it one of the larger wild mammals in the country.  They are solidly built and have a trunk-like nose and short tail.  Baird's tapirs are considered endangered.

04 Trip to Turtle Bay (66)

04 Trip to Turtle Bay (67)

04 Trip to Turtle Bay (68)

This one watched us for a few seconds, before turning tail and running back into the jungle.  A bit of an odd-looking creature -- part pig, part camel, part elephant.  Probably the only wild tapir I'll ever see, but I'm grateful to have spotted this one.

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Twitter: @DrFumblefinger

"We do not take a trip, a trip takes us".  John Steinbeck, from Travels with Charlie

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