One of the biggest mammals in South America is the amazonian tapir. Adult tapirs have rather chubby bodies, weighing anywhere from 350 to 600 pounds. Tapirs have large ears, stumpy tails, and thick necks, which give them an odd appearance. The tapir also has short trunks that they use to lift food into their mouths. They have a ridge with a fringe of hair running along the backs of their necks and are tan to dark brown in color. Tapir babies are born with spotted and striped coats that help them blend in; as they get older, these coats get darker. To aid them in navigating on muddy, soft ground, each foot has three to four spread-out toes. Tapirs possess keen senses. Although they are frequently active during the day, tapirs are typically most active at night. Tapirs are elusive in the wild due to their solitary, secretive lifestyles. Tapirs are able to travel long distances through the forest even though they appear to be sedentary. Tapirs from the Amazon are classified as browsing herbivores because they eat both fruits (with a preference for bananas) and herbaceous vegetation. They will also eat aquatic plants because they can swim well and walk on pond bottoms.