We love our cool new plastic tapir! He got his name ("Uncle Baku") from Mary Beaird in one of our famous tapir naming contests. "Uncle Baku" is a cartoon tapir characters drawn by Mary, an English artist who loves tapirs and has donated some of her art to our Tapir Preservation Fund CafePress shop. "Baku" is the Japanese word for a mythical "dream eater" with a long nose. The legend may originally have come from China. The term "baku" now applies to tapirs, but in the beginning it may have been a more human-looking character with a long nose. It is a welcome guest, as the dreams it eats tend to be nightmares, thus sparing the dreaming human from the frightening experience of the nightmare. By extension, the baku seems to bring good fortune.
Our lifelike plastic tapir is soft and squeezable because it's hollow. It also makes a very tapir-like chirp or squeak when you squeeze its belly. This plastic tapir replica or toy has more realistic features than we've seen on any other toy tapir. The shape and stance have clearly been studied by the manufacturer, because the tapir has such a lifelike appearance. The gray saddle is in the right position, coming down just to the top of the small tail, which also looks very real. The head, nose, ears, and muscles are all well sculpted. The feet are also very natural looking with a lifelike hoof on each toe. We only have one wish concerning the toes - each front foot should have one more. A real tapir has four toes on each front foot and three on each rear foot, while our plastic tapir has three toes on each foot. Other than that, the details are excellent. The tapir even has nostrils at the end of its unique, long nose. The tapir stands 2 3/4 inches tall and measures 5 1/4 inches long. Check out our other tapir toys and gifts. Read more about real tapirs on our Tapir Gallery web site. You can also contribute to their conservation through Club Tapir. Your Club Tapir donation does not have to be processed separately, but can be added to your shopping cart!
Your purchase of
stuffed animals,
plastic animals,
and other toys and gifts from
Tapir and Friends Wildlife World
helps preserve endangered species
and their habitats
All tapirs are endangered species
Saving tapirs helps save the rainforest
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P.O. Box 118, Astoria, Oregon 97103, USA
Office phone / fax (503) 325-3179 ~ Cell phone (503) 338-8646