World Tapir Day (WTD) occurs every 27 April to highlight tapirs – long-snouted herbivorous mammals, species of which can be found in South America, Central America and South East Asia. The WTD organisation says that tapirs are "one of the least recognised species of animals", despite their large size and ecological importance.

According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, all tapir species are endangered and their population is continuing to decrease. "The destruction of forests into small, isolated enclaves and the encroachment of human activity into pristine forests affects all native species. However, as the largest – yet perhaps the quietest – of animals in their ranges, tapirs disappear without trace with countless other species," says WTD.

But with their snuffly, long noses and pig-like body, what isn't to love? Here are some pictures of tapirs being really, very, so adorable, to celebrate their special day.

Muzzling tapirs
Denise (L), a female Malayan tapir, a recent arrival from Philadelphia Zoo muzzles her way next to Berani, a male tapir at Sydney's Taronga Zoo, where its hoped the newly introduced pair will breed as part of a conservation program for this endangered species. Reuters
Baby tapir with its mother
A 15-day-old baby tapir named Tungurahua, same as the Ecuadorean volcano, stays with her mother Chica in the Zoo of Banos Reuters
Jumping baby tapir
Four week-old South American tapir (Tapirus Terrestris) 'Ailton' jumps over a branch in his enclosure at the Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg Reuters
Tapir chasing an apple
A tapir eats an apple in a pond at Schoenbrunn Zoo in Vienna, during a heatwave Reuters
Brazilian tapir enjoying a shower
Brazilian Tapir Tique is treated to a nice cold shower by the zoo keeper at Taronga Zoo Getty
Young Malayan tapir
A young Malayan tapir walks in its enclosure in the zoo in Leipzig, eastern Germany Getty
Baby tapir with its mother
A young male tapir stands next to his mother at the Zooparc of Beauval in Saint-Aignan, central France Getty
Baby tapir lies with its mother
A baby tapir is pictured with its mother at the zoo of the French eastern city of Amneville Getty
Tapir in snow
A tapir walks on snow on in its enclosure in Berlin zoo Getty
Tapirs enjoy some leaves
Brazilian tapirs eat leaves after using their trunks to spread paint on a canvas in the Cerza zoo, Hermival-les-Vaux, northwestern France Getty
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