Studies of carnivores have shown little support to the possibility of tigers Panthera tigris predating Malayan tapirs (Tapirus indicus) (Linkie and Ridout 2011). Similarly, lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) and Baird’s tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) are possibly part of the diet of jaguars (Panthera onca), nevertheless few records in scats exist (Weckel et al. 2006). In the high Andes, the potential predators of the mountain tapirs (Tapirus pinchaque) are pumas (Puma concolor) and Andean bears (Tremarctos ornatus). Some clues, such as mountain tapir hairs found in Andean bear feces and captured mountain tapirs carrying large scars presumably produced by Andean bears, have been reported (Castellanos 2011). However, hairs are not evidence of bears being able to attack tapirs, since they could also have been obtained from eating an already dead tapir. Direct evidence of mountain tapirs as preys of Andean bears has not been obtained yet.
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