Which rainforest mammal is the largest land animal in South America?

The South American tapir is the largest land animal in South America. Its scientific name is Tapirus terrestris, and it inhabits forests, wetlands, grasslands, and river edges east of the Andes.

This tapir has a compact body, short legs, and a flexible snout called a proboscis. It eats leaves, fruit, shoots, and aquatic plants, and its movements help disperse seeds through tropical forests. It is generally solitary, though mothers remain with their young for an extended period.

People sometimes mistake the tapir for a pig because of its rounded body, but tapirs belong to the order Perissodactyla and are more closely related to horses and rhinoceroses. The species remains widespread in parts of Amazonia, yet hunting, roads, habitat loss, and fires threaten populations in many regions.