Adam Thorn Presents: The Tale of the Tapir

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The Jungle is one of the most formidable environments known to man and the Malayan jungle is the oldest jungle on the planet. The diversity of species in its ecosystem is vast and exclusive to the area.

Adam Thorn is an animal biologist and explorer who travels the world in search for the most dangerous and weirdest creatures on earth. In this documentary he’s in search of the Malayan tapir, one of his favorite animals that also happens to be the strangest he has ever seen.

Many people confuse the tapir with the anteater. However these two animals aren’t even related. The tapir’s closest relative is the rhinoceros, yet it shares an ancestral lineage with modern day horses. There are five species of tapirs and they are all in danger due to deforestation. The Malayan tapir is the biggest of them all.

The journey begins with a six-hour boat ride on the river because it’s the easiest way to get deep into the jungle. Then along with his team he treks as far away as possible from humans because this will give him the best chance of finding the tapir. He only has five days until the boatman comes back to pick him up where he left him.

Along the way, Adam Thorne encounters many beautiful and exotic animals. The first thing he finds is snakeskin about a meter long that is still wet from molting. Nearly 300 different species of reptiles live in this rainforest.

As he journeys on, Adam connects deeply with the life around him, yet he realizes that the tapir is a very shy creature and it wont be easy to find him in this enormous landscape. Still Adam heads deeper into the thick jungle with high hopes of completing his mission successfully.

Because the rainy season is over, he is able to cross a river that would have been much deeper and wider a few months before. His main concern is walking into a crocodile, but he makes it safely to the other side.

Just as he had suspected, the forest he now enters is harsher. But in a surprising twist, he encounters a beautiful frog species that he has never seen before, although he’s very familiar with the species in the area.

By his last night, Adam’s morale is extremely low and he tries to come to terms with the fact that he just might never be able to find the tapir. Watch this documentary to find out more.