Tn the danse jungle of Central America live the tapirs, brownish black, shout-legged beasts with practically no tails. Their nose, which extend several inches beyond their mouths, can move in all direction as freely as an elephan's trunk.
The tapir is an exceptional swimmer as well as a fair runner. A fully grown one looks as though it might be a cross between a pig and a smell rhinoceros without horns. Tapirs are only about four feet long but are very heavy for their size.
Tapirs are rather shy creatures with poor eyesight. They certainly do not go around looking for trouble. Even so, their grim enemies are jaguars and big constrictor snakes like the boas.