Beth Whitlow. Age 7, of Crown Point, Ind., for her question:

What do tapirs eat?

Tapirs are related to horses, but to look at them you would never know it. They have toes instead of dainty hoofs, chunky legs and pointed noses. They have no manes or flowing tails. But the tapirs eat grasses and other greenery, just as the horses do. Neither tapirs nor horses ever eat meat.

An animal must eat what he can find. His food must be found near where he lives. Tapirs enjoy life in hot and steamy jungles, and some live in Malaya, Sumatra, Mexico and South America. All of them love rivers, and many can swim under water. All tapirs dine on grasses and leafy boughs of jungle trees.