Wild Conservation – A Houston Zoo Blog

Photo Patricia Medici

The four living species of tapirs occur in the tropics of Central America (Baird’s tapir), South America (lowland tapir, and mountain tapir), and Southeast Asia (Malayan tapir). The lowland tapir has the broadest range of the four living species extending from north-central Colombia and east of the Andes throughout most of tropical South America down to north eastern Argentina and Paraguay at elevations up to 2,000 masl. The species occurs in 11 different countries including Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, French Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

The Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative
The Atlantic Forest Tapir Program has demonstrated that tapirs are a keystone species that play a critical role in shaping and maintaining biological diversity and forest structure, and are essential for key ecological processes such as seed dispersal and predation. In order to advance scientific knowledge and promote the conservation of this widely spread but seriously imperiled large mammal, Patrícia Medici has now launched a country-wide Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative that will establish tapir research and conservation programs in other key biomes of Brazil. The first of these is a new Tapir Research and Conservation Program in the Brazilian Pantanal, where no tapir research has ever been conducted. The Pantanal is increasingly threatened. Deforestation is now widespread throughout the region, threatening tapirs and other wildlife with local extinction.

The Pantanal Tapir Program was established in 2008. The study areas of the Pantanal Tapir Program are the Hotel Fazenda Baía das Pedras in the Nhecolândia sub-region of the Pantanal, and the Pousada Xaraés and Fazenda Nossa Senhora do Carmo in the Abobral sub-region. The main goals of this new long-term program are to collect ecological, demographic, epidemiological and genetic data to assess the conservation status and viability of tapir populations in the Brazilian Pantanal.

Link here for more on Tapir Conservation on the Blog da Anta website

You can travel to the Pantanal with the Houston Zoo and visit with the Pantanal Tapir Program in August 2011. Just link here for an itinerary.

Giant Anteater-Pantanal Tour 2009

More Posts Like This!

• Tapirs, Brazil and The Pantanal The Pantanal is the largest inundated plain in the world and is a refuge for endangered species like the jaguar,...
• Year of the Gorilla Part 5: Eastern Lowland Gorilla Eastern Lowland Gorilla: Fading fast…This species only occurs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Year of the Gorilla...
• Year of the Gorilla Part 3: Western Lowland Gorilla Western Lowland Gorilla This population occurs within the countries of Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, Republic of Congo, and Equatorial...
• Experiencing Nature inspires us to protect it Did you know you can join the Houston Zoo’s Conservation Department on a tour to Africa, Asia or Latin America?...
• Last Call for Borneo! Reservation for our Borneo’s Elephants and Orangutans Tour will be closing soon with limited spaces available. The Houston Zoo is...