Which EDGE mammal interests you more: The pygmy hippo or the mountain tapir ? (poll)

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Another poll in a series for zoochatters to vote for one of two EDGE mammal species. This time it is a pair of much larger mammals.

Both species are ungulates (one odd toed and the other even toed) are far lesser known and appreciated than their larger close relatives and are classed as "Endangered" by the IUCN: the pygmy hippo and the mountain tapir.

Which of these mammal species interests you most / will you vote for ?

Please also feel free to write comments regarding why you made the choice and why the species you have voted for interests you more.

Thanks !

Look forward to seeing the results!

 

[Zorro]

While it is hard to pick one over the other I feel that having such an extreme difference in size between the larger river Hippo and the Pygmy Hippo very interesting plus living in remote rain forest makes if difficult to study!

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

While it is hard to pick one over the other I feel that having such an extreme difference in size between the larger river Hippo and the Pygmy Hippo very interesting plus living in remote rain forest makes if difficult to study!

Yes, definitely agree that the size difference is interesting and striking between the common and pygmy hippo.

Also agree that it is quite an enigmatic species due to how cryptic it is which is another similarity with the mountain tapir (though the hippo kept much more commonly kept in captivity).

While both of these species are hunted for bushmeat and traditional medicine my money would be on the pygmy hippo being a lot more hunted / affected by these anthropogenic activities than the tapir.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Seems like the pygmy hippo has a bit of an edge over the tapir, interesting.

 

[Fallax]

Voted tapir, since I haven't seen them before so I don't know much about them. Would like to see them really... those and the two Indonesian rhino species are the only perissodactyls missing from my lifelist.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Voted tapir, since I haven't seen them before so I don't know much about them. Would like to see them really... those and the two Indonesian rhino species are the only perissodactyls missing from my lifelist.

Thank you for your vote and comment @Mattaki ! Much appreciated!

Me too and for pretty much the same reasons as you have stated.

I have seen the pygmy hippo several times in captivity and will I find it a very endearing animal and am concerned about its worsening plight in the wild I find the mountain tapir to be far more enigmatic and I have yet to see one.

 

[Rayane]

Having seen both, the hippos many many times, I’d go everyday for Mountain tapirs. Of course, the fact that they are rarer in captivity is a factor but I’ve always been more found of tapirs and their unique nose. I don’t think I could come up with any rational argument about why tapirs over hippos.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Having seen both, the hippos many many times, I’d go everyday for Mountain tapirs. Of course, the fact that they are rarer in captivity is a factor but I’ve always been more found of tapirs and their unique nose. I don’t think I could come up with any rational argument about why tapirs over hippos.

Thank you for your reply @Rayane ! Much appreciated !

Where did you see the mountain tapir ?

Me too, I find the tapirs to be an incredibly interesting and appealing family.

Don't worry, I don't think there ever is any rational argument for why people prefer one animal species over another, it is always a subjective criteria.

 

[Austin the Sengi]

To be honest the reason why I voted the Mountain Tapir over the Pygmy Hippopotamus is because of one; I think out of all of the species of tapirs, this one is one of the most fascinating (with Baird’s and Lowland Tapirs in their respective second and third statuses) and two; I really do hope to see them in person for the first time at either Cheyenne Mountain Zoo or Los Angeles Zoo once Covid-19 travel restrictions ease up a bit (as well if either zoo still has them when I do visit these said zoos at all)

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

To be honest the reason why I voted the Mountain Tapir over the Pygmy Hippopotamus is because of one; I think out of all of the species of tapirs, this one is one of the most fascinating (with Baird’s and Lowland Tapirs in their respective second and third statuses) and two; I really do hope to see them in person for the first time at either Cheyenne Mountain Zoo or Los Angeles Zoo once Covid-19 travel restrictions ease up a bit (as well if either zoo still has them when I do visit these said zoos at all)

Thank you for your vote and comment @Austin the Sengi !

Why do you find the mountain tapir to be the most facinating of the tapirs ? Is it their ecology, their rarity or their appearance which appeals to you ?

Personally I am fascinated by this animal too and would love to see this species in the flesh one day too.

 

[Tim May]

This is an extremely difficult question to answer as both species are very interesting.

From a taxonomic viewpoint, I think the pygmy hippo is the more interesting species as it is distinctive enough to be in its own genus whilst the mountain tapir shares a genus with the Brazilian tapir.

However, whilst I've seen lots of pygmy hippos, in numerous different zoos, I've seen very few mountain tapirs and I've not seen one for many years.

Consequently I voted for mountain tapir as it is more than twenty years since I've seen the species and I would love to see one again.

 

[Austin the Sengi]

Thank you for your vote and comment @Austin the Sengi !

Why do you find the mountain tapir to be the most facinating of the tapirs ? Is it their ecology, their rarity or their appearance which appeals to you ?

Personally I am fascinated by this animal too and would love to see this species in the flesh one day too.

I really do apologize for my late reply; but honestly I have to say that both it’s appearance and it’s rarity in both the wild and in captivity really do make the Mountain Tapir all that fascinating.

- Austin the Sengi

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

This is an extremely difficult question to answer as both species are very interesting.

From a taxonomic viewpoint, I think the pygmy hippo is the more interesting species as it is distinctive enough to be in its own genus whilst the mountain tapir shares a genus with the Brazilian tapir.

However, whilst I've seen lots of pygmy hippos, in numerous different zoos, I've seen very few mountain tapirs and I've not seen one for many years.

Consequently I voted for mountain tapir as it is more than twenty years since I've seen the species and I would love to see one again.

Thank you for your vote and comment @Tim May !

They are both very interesting species, I agree.

That is a very good point about the taxonomic distinctiveness of the pygmy hippo and I agree that it is a fascinating creature indeed.

However, it could also be argued that the mountain tapir is also quite distinct too in the sense that it is the most morphologically conservative of the genus and is essentially an animal of the early miocene epoch.

I think for me I voted for much of the same reason in that I have seen quite a few pygmy hippos in zoos but never a mountain tapir.

Ah, so you have seen the tapir before, where did you see this species ?

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I really do apologize for my late reply; but honestly I have to say that both it’s appearance and it’s rarity in both the wild and in captivity really do make the Mountain Tapir all that fascinating.

- Austin the Sengi

Dont worry Austin no problem.

I see, well thanks for sharing that, it is always interesting to see what makes certain species appeal to different people.

I know there are still a handful of mountain tapirs left in zoos in the USA so there is really a very good chance that you will get to see one soon.

 

[Rayane]

Thank you for your reply @Rayane ! Much appreciated !

Where did you see the mountain tapir ?

Me too, I find the tapirs to be an incredibly interesting and appealing family.

Don't worry, I don't think there ever is any rational argument for why people prefer one animal species over another, it is always a subjective criteria.

Saw them in LA a few years ago. Beautiful species, very different from the Lowland and Baird's tapirs when it comes to headshape. Except for the Kabomani, if one considers it a valid taxon, I have seen all the tapir species thanks to this little trip in Los Angeles.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Saw them in LA a few years ago. Beautiful species, very different from the Lowland and Baird's tapirs when it comes to headshape.

Oh right, that is awesome

Yes, definitely they have quite a distinct appearance to the other three tapir with the thicker pelt, prominent white lips and smaller size.

I have seen plenty of Malayan tapir in zoos and seen the Baird's and lowland tapir in the wild on a number of occasion.

The mountain tapir to me is on my "life list" of species to see so it is a bit of a dream of mine to see one one day as it would mean having seen all four tapir species.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Except for the Kabomani, if one considers it a valid taxon, I have seen all the tapir species thanks to this little trip in Los Angeles.

The "Kabomani tapir" is a difficult one, there is a very heated debate among the tapir specialists out there and within the IUCN tapir specialist group about the validity of it being given species status.

I'm personally inclined to think that it isn't a valid species based on the genetic studies that have come out that place it within T. terrestris.

So on that note I would say that in my opinion you have actually managed to see all of the tapir species @Rayane and well done for having done it

 

[Rayane]

The "Kabomani tapir" is a difficult one, there is a very heated debate among the tapir specialists out there and within the IUCN tapir specialist group about the validity of it being given species status.

I'm personally inclined to think that it isn't a valid species based on the genetic studies that have come out that place it within T. terrestris.

So on that note I would say that in my opinion you have managed to see all of the tapir species and well done for having done it

Have you seen the pictures of the tapir at Parque Jaime Duque in Colombia? The tapir looks very different from any other individual I've seen, hence my beliefe there might be an additional tapir species.

 

[Tim May]

Ah, so you have seen the tapir before, where did you see this species ?

I have seen mountain tapir at Vincennes (Paris) Zoo, Stuttgart Zoo and Los Angeles Zoo although I've not seen the species for many years..

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Have you seen the pictures of the tapir at Parque Jaime Duque in Colombia? The tapir looks very different from any other individual I've seen, hence my beliefe there might be an additional tapir species.

I've seen pictures of what is claimed to be the "Kabomani" tapir, yes, but I believe more evidence needs to be raised to support the notion that it is a distinct species from T. terrestris.

At the moment as far as I've heard there hasn't really been sufficient evidence raised to support the argument by proponents of it being a new species.