Dark Skinned Characters (Critisism Wanted)

[Count of Cutesy]

I've been drawing a lot of characters for my Elemental Force project, a series of drawings depicting super-heroic animals, each having amazing abilities and strengths like magic powers, skilled fighting, and a great mind. One of these particular characters is a Malayan Tapir named Thumper, a big fat beast who's an incredibly formidable wrestler, (#1 Contender in her league, too) who also has the ability to increase her size. She is not allowed to use these powers in the ring.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/12053437/

However, I am a bit worried about her skin color, which is a dark grey. Dark skinned characters like this are often considered racist. Not only is she fat, but she's also a tapir. Now a "pretty" animal like a wolf or a horse, a fat, ugly lipped tapir. Now, I personally adore tapirs, but likely not everyone knows what they are, or will think they are very cool. I wanted opinions on the character on whether I should change her skin color and if it might come off as racist.