Four New Tapir T-shirts Designed by Sergio Sandoval

Purchase them in our new Tapir Gallery store!

The four tapir species have been depicted in beautiful, colorful paintings by Sergio Sandoval of Colombia. You can also get the designs on mugs, mouse pads, and on a high-quality poster-style wall calendar. 

We are all about protecting tapirs and their vanishing habitats, and what better way to join the effort than by wearing tapirs to show you care? Most people you meet will ask, "What is that?" so you also get a perfect opportunity to help educate people about these important animals and let people know that tapirs help maintain the health of the rainforests and cloud forests in which they live.

Tapir lovers, these designs will make your day or bring a smile to the face of any tapir fan when you give them as a gift. Each design is purchased separately, but you will probably want to collect all four!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Three Plastic Realistic Tapir Replicas

Three plastic tapir replicas available online at

Tapir and Friends Animal Store

One of our customers asked for a size comparison of our three very realistic tapir replicas. Although they look like a happy family with mom, dad, and baby, there are two different species here. The baby and the tapir on the left are Baird's tapirs from Central America and the tapir on the right is an Asian (Malayan) tapir. The Baird's tapirs are made by CollectA, and the Asian tapir is by Safari, Ltd. The saize ratios of the adults are fairly accurate as well, with the Malayan tapir being larger than the Baird's. You can find all three in our online store.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Beautiful Realistic Mom and Baby Baird's Tapir Plastic Replicas

Mom and baby tapir figurines now available online at

Tapir and Friends Animal Store

Come visit our store to learn more about these beautiful, lifelike replicas and about Baird's tapirs!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Stuffed Tapir, "Yanisa"

Our spokesmodel struts her stuff!

About Yanisa, Our Stuffed Tapir

Our stuffed tapir from Hansa is hand-made in the Philippines and is based on the look of a real animal. This tapir is special! Not only are toy tapirs as rare and endangered as their real-life counterparts, but this one embodies Hansa's dependable quality construction and lifelike appearance. Hansa creates each animal with great care from the drawing board to the last stitch. The animals are hand made, the fabrics designed and purchased in small quantities to suit each design. The dark fur is a chocolate brown; the light fur is white. Yanisa's eyes have a plastic lid over them, giving them character and appeal. We have to tell you that the tail is white, not dark as in a real tapir but we hope her shining personality makes up for this.

We've named our tapir "Yanisa," after the half-Thai daughter of a Russian tapir fan and corespondent. The name sounds beautiful, but it also means "Wisdom" in the Thai language. One of our favorite tapir quotes comes from Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who, after describing in the book Travelers' Tales Thailand, said: "Many years earlier, a traveler in Burma had described the tapir as 'an enigma,' a survivor of a 'more gentle and legendary time . . . wandering in unique isolation in a world not yet mature enough for its wisdom.'" So, what better name could we choose for this beautiful tapir?

This tapir's feet are quite realistic with a lifelike soft hoof on each of the toes. In addition, it is one of the few tapir toys we've seen that has the correct number of digits per foot! Yanisa has four toes on each front foot, and three on each back foot. You have to look carefully to see that fourth toe, but it is there! Look at the pleasing face and "signature" long tapirlike nose. Our stuffed tapir stands 7 1/2 inches tall and measures 13 1/2 inches long. Check out our other tapir toys and gifts. Read more about real tapirs on our Tapir Gallery web site. You can also contribute to their conservation through Club Tapir. Your Club Tapir donation does not have to be processed separately, but can be added to your shopping cart! Your purchase helps save endangered animals!

About Asian (Malayan) Tapirs

Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) grow to between 6 and 8 feet in length, stand 3 to 3.5 feet tall, and typically weigh between 550 and 700 pounds. Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot. The Malayan Tapir has rather poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell. The easily identifiable markings (the saddle, white rimmed ears, black legs, chest, and head) make it more difficult to recognize it as a tapir, and other animals may mistake it for a large rock rather than a form of prey when it is lying down to sleep. Malayan Tapirs communicate with high-pitched squeaks and whistles. They usually prefer to live near water and often bathe and swim, and they are also able to climb steep slopes. Malayan Tapirs can live up to 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity. Malayan tapirs live in Southest Asia, where they have become extinct in some of their range; small populations still survive in Myanmar, Thailand, and Sumatra (Indonesia). In the past, scientists believed that tapirs live solitary lives, but in recent years, it has become clear that they can be found in small family groups. They do not live in herds, and are hard to located in the forest. Under ideal conditions, a tapir gives birth about every 18 months to two years, bearing only one calf at a time. The slow "recruitment rate" is one of the several reasons they are on their way to extinction. Read more about Malayan tapirs here.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Malayan Tapir Fuzzy Stickers

Perfect for decorating your folders, lockers, and book covers!

Our Malayan Tapir Fuzzy Stickers

These adorable fuzzy stickers show Malayan tapirs in four lifelike positions - yes, they really do sit like that! There are four stickers per square. The tapirs from one square shown above, although the real squares are on white background. Our price to you is 4 squares (16 tapirs) for one dollar. Each square is about 2 x 2 inches, with the biggest tapir about 1.25 inches long.

Normally when we learn that one of our favorite tapir items has been discontinued, we have to say we're sorry, we can't get any more. However, in this case we were lucky! Carol Reid found out that Sandylion had made their last tapir stickers . . . and they'd sell us all they had for a great price. We're passing along the savings to you plus the hope that we'll never run out. Thanks to Carol, we have thousands of stickers on hand!

About Asian (Malayan) Tapirs

Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) grow to between 6 and 8 feet in length, stand 3 to 3.5 feet tall, and typically weigh between 550 and 700 pounds. Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot. The Malayan Tapir has rather poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell. The easily identifiable markings (the saddle, white rimmed ears, black legs, chest, and head) make it more difficult to recognize it as a tapir, and other animals may mistake it for a large rock rather than a form of prey when it is lying down to sleep. Malayan Tapirs communicate with high-pitched squeaks and whistles. They usually prefer to live near water and often bathe and swim, and they are also able to climb steep slopes. Malayan Tapirs can live up to 30 years, both in the wild and in captivity. Malayan tapirs live in Southest Asia, where they have become extinct in some of their range; small populations still survive in Myanmar, Thailand, and Sumatra (Indonesia). In the past, scientists believed that tapirs live solitary lives, but in recent years, it has become clear that they can be found in small family groups. They do not live in herds, and are hard to located in the forest. Under ideal conditions, a tapir gives birth about every 18 months to two years, bearing only one calf at a time. The slow "recruitment rate" is one of the several reasons they are on their way to extinction. Read more about Malayan tapirs here.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Stuffed Tapir Plush Toy

Our wonderful stuffed tapir by Hansa is back in the store and ready to ship!

Our stuffed tapir from Hansa is hand-made in the Philippines and is based on the look of a real animal. This tapir is special! Not only are toy tapirs as rare and endangered as their real-life counterparts, but this one embodies Hansa's dependable quality construction and lifelike appearance. Hansa creates each animal with great care from the drawing board to the last stitch. The animals are hand made, the fabrics designed and purchased in small quantities to suit each design. The dark fur is a chocolate brown; the light fur is white. Yanisa's eyes have a plastic lid over them, giving them character and appeal. We have to tell you that the tail is white, not dark as in a real tapir but we hope her shining personality makes up for this.

Our Stuffed Tapir

We've named our tapir "Yanisa," after the half-Thai daughter of a Russian tapir fan and corespondent. The name sounds beautiful, but it also means "Wisdom" in the Thai language. One of our favorite tapir quotes comes from Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who, after describing in the book Travelers' Tales Thailand, said: "Many years earlier, a traveler in Burma had described the tapir as 'an enigma,' a survivor of a 'more gentle and legendary time . . . wandering in unique isolation in a world not yet mature enough for its wisdom.'" So, what better name could we choose for this beautiful tapir?

This tapir's feet are quite realistic with a lifelike soft hoof on each of the toes. In addition, it is one of the few tapir toys we've seen that has the correct number of digits per foot! Yanisa has four toes on each front foot, and three on each back foot. You have to look carefully to see that fourth toe, but it is there! Look at the pleasing face and "signature" long tapirlike nose. Our stuffed tapir stands 7 1/2 inches tall and measures 13 1/2 inches long. Check out our other tapir toys and gifts. Read more about real tapirs on our Tapir Gallery web site. You can also contribute to their conservation through Club Tapir. Your Club Tapir donation does not have to be processed separately, but can be added to your shopping cart! Your purchase helps save endangered animals!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Tapir T-shirts

Tapir t-shirts back in stock! Come on over and get one before they disappear again! Sorry, but we've had some trouble keeping our tapir t-shirts and sweatshirts in stock this season. We've received a shipment, and most sizes are now available.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Stuffed tapir back in stock

Wow! Our stuffed tapir, "Yanisa," is back in stock. We really missed her!

Our stuffed tapir from Hansa is hand-made in the Philippines and is based on the look of a real animal. This tapir is special! Not only are toy tapirs as rare and endangered as their real-life counterparts, but this one embodies Hansa's dependable quality construction and lifelike appearance. Hansa creates each animal with great care from the drawing board to the last stitch. The animals are hand made, the fabrics designed and purchased in small quantities to suit each design. The dark fur is a chocolate brown; the light fur is white. Yanisa's eyes have a plastic lid over them, giving them character and appeal. We have to tell you that the tail is white, not dark as in a real tapir but we hope her shining personality makes up for this.

We've named our tapir "Yanisa," after the half-Thai daughter of a Russian tapir fan and corespondent. The name sounds beautiful, but it also means "Wisdom" in the Thai language. One of our favorite tapir quotes comes from Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who, after describing in the book Travelers' Tales Thailand, said: "Many years earlier, a traveler in Burma had described the tapir as 'an enigma,' a survivor of a 'more gentle and legendary time . . . wandering in unique isolation in a world not yet mature enough for its wisdom.'" So, what better name could we choose for this beautiful tapir?

This tapir's feet are quite realistic with a lifelike soft hoof on each of the three toes per foot. (We always like to point out that real tapirs have four toes on each front foot and four on each rear foot, but toy tapirs usually end up with three and three.) Look at the pleasing face and "signature" long tapirlike nose. Our stuffed tapir stands 7 1/2 inches tall and measures 13 1/2 inches long. Check out our other tapir toys and gifts. Read more about real tapirs on our Tapir Gallery web site. You can also contribute to their conservation through the Tapir Preservation Fund's web site. Your Club Tapir donation does not have to be processed separately, but can be added to your shopping cart! Your purchase helps save endangered animals!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Cute baby tapir animal jewelry

One of our most popular pieces of animal jewelry over the past eight or nine years has been this frolicking aluminum baby tapir, hand made by California artist Corinna Bechko. It comes in a selection of colors and can be ordered as a pin, pendant, or earrings. With the pendant and earrings you have a choice of any color bead you like. Corinna has an unusual collection of artistic beads. You choose the color and she'll find a style that looks perfect with the tapir jewelry. Aluminum is light weight and durable, and your creation will be a rare one-of-a-kind keepsake.

Tapirs happily received in the Czech Republic

Uncle Baku the plastic tapir

Sue,

I got everything from you. It is great. Thank you for
easygoing purchase. Tapirs are beautiful.

Kind regards.

Pavel

Knitted stuffed tapirs

A chorus line of knitted tapirs:

Baird's, lowland, mountain, and Asian

January 4, 2007

I received the 4th [knitted] tapir from the artist in Canada. I love them!

Thanks again,

Jill in Washington, DC

Early Online Customer Service

Starfoot stuffed tapir

Thanks for letting me know. Starfoot arrived yesterday, he's great. One of the things I like about ordering from the Tapir Gallery Gift Shop is the fact that you e-mail your customers as to when things have shipped.

Erica