Hi mollysue,
A Tapir Gallery Online Reprint - Vol. 4, No. 9 ~ September 2001
http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/tpf-news/2001/tpfn0109.htm
"The worldwide population of T. bairdii is probably less than 5,000.
There appear to be at least 2,500 in Mexico and Guatemala, although a
planned road through Guatemala could be a threat.
The total population of T. indicus may be over 3,000. In Sumatra, all
forest outside conservation areas may be lost over the next few
decades, and potentially by 2005 (Science Magazine). Myanmar's
protected areas make up only 3.2% of land area, and most tapir habitat
lies outside these protected areas. In peninsular Malaysia, camera
trapping shows that tapirs are among the most abundant large mammals;
Malaysia's stable economy and 45% forest coverage may help them remain
so.
Our Red List suggestions for the mountain tapir (T. pinchaque) note
escalation of pressure from hunting, cattle culture, and
fragmentation. A mining project and reports of mountain tapir killings
in northern Peru indicate problems for the tiny remnant population
thought to exist there.
Tapirs thrive in some disturbed forests, and decline in others. They
do not fare well in the presence of hunting, and this may be the
deciding factor in whether they can adjust to human activity."
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TAPIR SPECIALIST GROUP - Tapir Conservation
The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group - Number 7, October 1997
http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/iucn-ssc/tsg/9710tc04.htm
Belize - Baird's Tapir (Tapirus bairdii)
Estimated population: 2,000-3,000
"One of the obstacles Sharon Matola had to overcome in teaching tapir
conservation in Belize was the widely-held belief that a tapir would
skin a human or dog alive with its nose. But education has turned a
feared creature into the beloved national animal of Belize. "
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The trend is decreasing according to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=21471
Aldan, C., Matola, S., Castellanos, A. & Constantino, E. (Tapir Specialist Group)
Evaluator/s Shoemaker, A., Medici, P. & Todd, S. (Tapir Red List Authority)
Justification
"The current overall population estimate for this species is less than
5,000. Range-wide habitat change is very deleterious to T. bairdii,
which does not occupy all habitat types and suffers from population
fragmentation and persecution. It is estimated that around 70% of
Central American forest areas have been lost through deforestation and
alteration over the last 40 years (Primack et al. 1997). The
construction of a road through the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Guatemala
is likely to become a major problem for tapirs in that area.
Constantino?s recent fieldwork has convinced him there are no tapirs
on the Gulf side of Katios National Park, Colombia, although there are
at least six within the park itself. Guerrilla activity makes work in
the area difficult. Biologists in the park also feel there are a few
tapirs between Katios National Park and the Pacific Ocean. Large
fragments of jungle to the Pacific combined with the El Darien region
that is shared with Panama could have 160,000 ha of habitat for a
total of 227,000 ha. If each adult tapir requires 500 ha, a rough
estimate is 450 animals in this area. Hunting, warfare and habitat
fragmentation could impact this estimate. Tapirs further down the
Pacific coast amount to little more than rumors and an occasional
track or two, so the 450-population estimate may represent the entire
population in that area."
Range and Population
Tapirus bairdii is known to occur in Belize, Columbia, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama. Historically the
species also occurred in El Salvador but is now extinct within that
country. Baird's tapir was also recorded as being collected in Ecuador
in the 1930s, however, this report is unconfirmed and there are no
records of the species occurring in Ecuador since that time.
Threats
Baird's tapir is threatened primarily by habitat destruction, and to a
lesser degree by hunting. Tapirs have a low reproductive rate. After a
13 month gestation period, the single offspring will usually spend up
to two years with its mother. This low recruitment rate, coupled with
hunting threats and habitat loss, is a serious factor contributing to
population declines (Matola et al. 1997).
Conservation Measures
Protected nationally throughout its range, however, these laws are
often not enforced in many areas (Matola et al. 1997)."
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Lowland Tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) as Landscape Detectives for the
Atlantic Forest: A New Conservation Approach
http://www.eco-index.org/search/results.cfm?projectID=385
Date this survey was updated:
February 2004
[edit]
Project objectives:
"Assess and monitor the genetic and health conditions of the different
populations: The study of the actual genetic status of the populations
will provide essential data for population viability analysis based on
genetics data and information, and metapopulation management.
Preliminary population estimates obtained from 23 radio-collared
tapirs during the past seven years, along with systematic census
results, suggest that no more than 350 tapirs survive in the forests
of the Pontal region. This number is below the viable number of 500
reproducing individuals recommended for long-term population viability
and survival. Therefore, it is expected that, in the absence of some
sort of management, the local tapir population will soon exhibit
pronounced effects of inbreeding (e.g. reduction of genetic
variability, appearance of congenital defects, abnormal infant
development, reduction in survival and reproduction indices). The
health assessments will provide information about the diseases
affecting tapirs in the region, and these results will be used as an
additional tool for the population viability assessments."
Date project began:
1996
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Tapirs: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan - Published 1997
http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/iucn-ssc/tsg/action97/ap97-06.htm#map
Abstract
"Baird's tapir is threatened primarily by habitat destruction and to a
lesser degree by hunting. Assessments of populations, threats to
habitats, and threats due to hunting are listed as priorities for
action. Moreover, it is necessary to fortify protected areas into
working conservation units. Other actions include educational programs
and research."
[edit]
Distribution
"Originally distribution was from Veracruz, in southeastern Mexico to
west of the Andes, from the northern portion of Colombia (west of the
Rio Cauca) to the Gulf of Guayaquil in Ecuador (Hershkovitz, 1954).
Range area is estimated at 1,186,300km2 (Arita et al. 1990)"
(see distribution map)
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The Tapir Gallery
http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/describd.htm
"Four species of tapir exist on the planet today. All are closely
related, although the Asian (often called Malayan) tapir lives in
Southeast Asia, while the other three live in the Americas. The
Baird's tapir lives in Mexico and Central America, and has been found
in the northernmost areas of Colombia; the lowland (often called
Brazilian) tapir lives in the rain forests of South America; and the
mountain tapir lives in the high cloud forests and paramos of the
northern Andes of Colombia and Ecuador. The tapirs are related to the
primitive horse and to the rhinoceros. Prehistoric tapirs inhabited
Europe, North America and Southeast Asia, including China, with no
remains having been found on the continents of Africa, Australia, or
Antarctica. Ancient tapirs would not have looked much different from
their cousins of the present day, although their noses didn't grow to
the present length until the last few million years. Although we don't
know much about their ancient migration patterns, tapirs did migrate
from Central to South America across the Panamanian Land Bridge about
2-3 million years ago."
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About Tapirs
http://www.tapirback.com/tapirgal/about.htm
What are tapirs and why are they interesting?
"Well, they're one of the lesser-known large animals in the world.
They weigh between about 350 and 800 pounds, depending on which
species you're talking about. Their closest relatives are horses and
rhinos and they inhabit jungle and forest lands in Central and South
America as well as in Southeast Asia. (An unusual distribution, which
can hardly be overlooked by anyone interested in geomorphology.)
All four species are considered by one list or another to be
endangered. They have flexible snouts that are fun to watch, and the
young look like striped watermelons on legs. With luck, a tapir will
live about 25-30 years. If you've ever stood quietly by a tapir pen at
a zoo, you've probably heard curious people who haven't read the sign
yet calling them pigs, anteaters, armadillos, aardvarks and even
bears. As I mentioned, they're not all that well known. Not big like
an elephant, humanoid like a chimpanzee, strikingly built like a
giraffe, ferocious like a lion, neither commonly seen nor beautifully
colored, they're often overlooked.
Retaining many prehistoric characteristics, they've been referred to
as "living fossils," and "creatures that time forgot." If you saw the
movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, these are the critters director Stanley
Kubrick chose to inhabit his prehistoric world along with
proto-humans. It was a tapir bone, hurled into the air, that dissolved
so magically into the future."
Keyword search:
Tapir or Mountain Cow population
Tapir Belize population
Tapir protection laws Belize
Tapir National Animal Belize
Tapir worldwide population trends
Tapir Belize population trends
Tapir threatened species population trend
Tapir endangered species
Best regards,
tlspiegel |
