Gash – An old Asian Tapir female..!
My Nikon D700 catches an odd-toed ungulate near a hot spring in the ‘Western Forest Complex’
An old Asian tapir female with a gash on her left flank…!
Before my trip to the U.S.A. this year in May, I set a Nikon D700 DSLR trail cam near a hot-spring in the ‘Western Forest Complex’ of Thailand. My first capture was an Indochinese female tiger shown below. But a real bonus was catching an Asian Tapir quite a few times usually leaving the waterhole after drinking the important minerals that seep from a rocky outcrop just down from this location.
Caught again later the same night…does look like she’s been through a meat-grinder…!
The ‘gash’ on it’s left flank is probably caused from a tiger’s claws trying to catch it but not being able to hold on. Tapir have extremely thick hide, and are very agile and fast and can shake-off a tiger. I have seen many tapir with these blood markings. Needless to say, a tribute to the tenacity of this rare species and a lucky catch on my Nikon D700…!
A female tiger camera trapped a few days before the tapir above…!
