Especially for the mountain tapir, the park is one of the most important strongholds.

It is one of the few zoos worldwide to have the mountain tapir.

Mountain tapirs reach sexual maturity at age three and have lived up to 27 years in captivity.

Like adults, baby mountain tapirs have thick, woolly fur to help keep them warm.

The zoo is one of only three institutions outside South America to display mountain tapir.

Female mountain tapirs have a 30-day estrous cycle, and typically breed only once every other year.

Inco and Sedona, mountain tapirs that live in the zoo.

Animals living on the volcano include the mountain tapir and spectacled bear, both of which are designated as threatened.

Mountain tapirs forage for tender plants to eat.

The mountain tapir would be an excellent choice for rewilding humid areas, such as those near lakes and rivers.

The mountain tapir has no recognised subspecies.

The mountain tapir is the only non-tropical species of tapir extant.

Predators of mountain tapirs include cougars, spectacled bears, and, less commonly, jaguars.

Even in zoos, genetic diversity is limited; all captive mountain tapirs, for example, are descended from only two founder individuals.

Mountain tapirs are also important seed dispersers within their environments, and have been identified as a keystone species of the high Andes.

The three zoos that house this species are working to ensure the remaining wild populations of mountain tapirs are protected.

Mountain tapirs are generally crepuscular, although they are more active during the day than other species of tapirs.

The Mountain Tapir has longer wooly fur.

The species name comes from the term "La Pinchaque", an imaginary beast said to inhabit the same regions as the mountain tapir.

Mountain tapirs are black or very dark brown in color, with occasional pale hairs flecked in amongst the darker fur.

The National Park is an important refuge for rare species of the Andes, like mountain tapirs and spectacled bears.

Typical species of the alpine and subalpine areas are mountain tapirs, pumas and Andean foxes.

Other balancers and leapers include the mountain zebra, mountain tapir, and hyraxes.

ARKive - images and movies of the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)

Tapirs are largely nocturnal and crepuscular, although the smaller mountain tapir of the Andes is generally more active during the day than its congeners.

ARKive - images and movies of the mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)

Mountain Tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)

Mammals registered include Spectacled Bear Tremarctos ornatus and Mountain Tapir Tapirus pinchaque.

The mountain tapir or woolly tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is the smallest of the four species of tapir and is the only one to live outside of tropical rainforests in the wild.