Part pig, part elephant, part horse - but actually related to none of them! Our printable tapir mask is one of the most wonderfully strange animals in the collection, with that distinctive prehensile snout, stocky body and shy, gentle nature making it a fascinating subject for curious children. Perfect for South American and Asian animals school plays, unusual animals classroom projects, World Book Day, birthday parties, and quietly surprising imaginative play.

The tapir is one of the oldest surviving large mammal designs on Earth - essentially unchanged for 35 million years - which makes it a brilliant subject for evolution and living fossil topics alongside its role in rainforest ecosystems. Every mask comes with a full colour version AND a black and white line art version for colouring in.

5 Interesting Facts About Tapirs!

Tapirs are most closely related to horses and rhinos - despite looking like a cross between a pig and an anteater, they belong to the order Perissodactyla alongside horses, rhinos and (formerly) mammoths.
Their flexible snout is prehensile - they can grasp and pull branches with it, use it as a snorkel when swimming and wading, and wiggle it around to sniff out food on the forest floor.
Baby tapirs are born with white and yellow stripes and spots - this camouflage pattern helps them blend into the dappled light of the forest floor. It fades after about six months as they grow.
Tapirs are living fossils - their body plan has remained essentially the same for 35 million years, making them one of the least-changed large mammals alive today.
They are important seed dispersers - tapirs eat large quantities of fruit and spread the seeds through their droppings across wide areas of forest, making them vital for maintaining rainforest biodiversity.

Printable Tapir Mask

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