Sometime back we received an email from a camera operator for an Asian wildlife film crew telling us about a strange creature that walked in front of their camera. The crew were so busy looking through the camera at whatever they were filming that they didn't see the animal approach and were totally surprised. They had NO CLUE that this strange looking animal was, in fact, a tapir. Because of diligent efforts by many conservation groups, tapirs are now widely recognized, loved and cared for, and you are part of that effort. Your donations and purchases from Tapir and Friends Wildlife World have helped to fund, in part, conservation projects in Indonesia as well as other parts of the world. Although we've come so far, we still have a long way to go.Just recently, another wildlife film crew had an encounter with this extraordinary animal. Denis Surya Utama Polapa, an employee at TV 7, a local station in Jakarta, Indonesia, discovered our site while browsing the web and shared his story with us.
TV 7, along with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), are working on a documentary program about wildlife in Indonesia called "Petualanguan Liar" which is translated "Wildlife Adventure." While filming at Ukui (Riau Province, Sumatera) they discovered a Malayan (Asian) tapir with a badly wounded leg that had accidently fallen in a water hole. The hole had been made by local hunters to trap pigs. According to Debbie Martyr of Fauna & Flora International (FFI), Kerinci-Seblat, Sumatra, hunting wild pig is permitted only outside protected areas. However, deer are protected everywhere and may only be hunted by licenced/permitted hunters in "hunting parks" or taman buru. (Debbie is also a member of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group.) Either the hunters had not yet discovered the distressed tapir or, not knowing what to do with it (tapirs apparently have no economic value to the hunters), they just left it. In spite of the danger to themselves, the TV 7 crew and the WWF team quickly set about rescuing the muddy, miserable animal.
After giving it a bit of a face wash (which it seems to really appreciate), two members of the group jumped into the hole, secured a strap under the animal's front leg and then boosted from behind as others pulled with the strap (see photos below). The leg wound was caused by a plastic knot leg trap, also used to trap pigs. Concerned that stress would make the healing process more difficult if kept in captivity, the WWF team recommended releasing the tapir. They are optimistic that time and nature will prove to be the best medicine. As you can see from the photos, the tapir was all for the idea.
Watch "Petualanguan Liar" ("Wildlife Adventure") every Saturday, 06:00 pm WIB on TV 7 Indonesia. For more information about TV 7 in Jakarta, Indonesia, the World Wildlife Fund or the documentary "Petualanguan Liar" ("Wildlife Adventure") check out these links:
www.wwf.org
www.myspace.com/petualanganliar
For more information about Fauna & Flora International or the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group check out these links:
www.fauna-flora.org
www.tapirspecialistgroup.org
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stuffed animals, plastic animals,
and other toys and gifts from
Tapir and Friends Wildlife World
helps preserve endangered species
and their habitats
All tapirs are endangered species
Saving tapirs helps save the rainforest
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Write to us: tapir@tapirback.com
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