The Tapir Gallery: Focus on the Baird's tapir Will there be time?

---

Dam threatens tapirs in Belize

The Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) has historically lived in southern Mexico, Central America and at least a small part of Colombia in South America. In Colombia, its range has been observed to overlap that of the lowland tapir. Baird's tapir is now extinct in parts of its former range, and is endangerd in other parts. As with the other three species, poaching and hunting are killing them off, and the encroachment of humans forces them away from their homes. Nobody knows how many are left, but there are fewer than the lowland tapir and more than either the mountain or Asian tapir. They enjoy swampy jungle and river habitat, but are also found in drier forests. The Baird's tapir was the first to be described by European explorers, but the last to be given a scientific name, and the last to be studied in any detail. It's the second largest of the tapirs next to the Asian tapir, and is the largest land mammal from Mexico to South America.

Links below marked with a (red arrow) indicate that the page is about or specifically includes Baird's tapirs. Other links may contain general information, or information about a habitat area that includes Baird's tapir, but where the species is not mentioned.

Description and general information

• About Tapirs
  
  
• Distribution map
  
  
• Reprints
  This page in The Tapir Gallery links to online reprints and also tells you where to obtain reprints on paper.
  
  
• Central American Tapir, Baird's Tapir
  "The Ultimate Ungulate Page: Your Guide to the World's Hoofed Mammal Species." Includes photos.
  

Pictures

• Pictures of Baird's tapirs on The Tapir Gallery Web site
  
• Baird's tapir pictures and info on the ARKive Web site
  

Endangered species lists

• Tapirus bairdii on the CITES list
  Search for tapir under common names and you will see all of the species listed.

Conservation and research

Baird's tapir: general and inclusive of other species

• Status and Action Plan of the Baird's Tapir (Tapirus bairdii)
  This is on the Web site of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group.
  
  
• Tapir Conservation and Project Profiles
  This page on the Tapir Gallery includes projects in Central America.
  
  
• Status and Action Plan of the Baird's Tapir (Tapirus bairdii)
  This is on the Web site of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group. This link takes you to the Table of Contents, which has links to each country where the species lives.
  
  
• Tapir Conservation: Number 7, October 1997
  This is on the Web site of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group. Check the Table of Contents and follow the links to North America (México) and Central America. This reference gives numbers of Baird's tapirs in each country, if known.
  
  
• Tapirs: Conservation & Ecology (general links to tapir conservation)
  
  
• How Can I Help?
  
  
  

By country

México

• "Situación Actual del Tapir en México"
  Work of Ignacio March Mifsut on the Baird's tapir in Chiapas, Mexico, is presented on this site along with a photo by Eduardo Naranjo and several drawings. The work is in Spanish with an English-language summary.
  

Belize

• Challilo (Dam) Scheme threatens tapirs and other wildlife
  
  
• Conservation web sites
  Also some interesting tidbits on tapirs, and how you can order T-shirts from the Belize Zoo - depicting the tapir, of course!
  
  
• Although Belize remains a refuge for the Baird's tapir due to the fact that much of its forested land is intact and the tapirs have some strong advocates there (one of the stongest being Sharon Matola, Founding Director of the Belize Zoo), foreign logging interests have become a threat not only to the tapirs, but to the Mayans who have inhabited Belize for many hundreds of years.
  

Honduras

• A Frontier Model for Landscape Ecology: the Tapir in Honduras by Kevin Flesher and Eduardo Ley was publised by Environmental and Ecological Statistics in 1995.
  Abstract: We borrow a frontier specification from the econometrics literature to make inferences about the tolerance of the tapir to human settlements. We estimate the width of an invisible band surrounding human settlements which would act as a frontier or exclusion zone to the tapir to be around 290 meters.
  

Costa Rica

• The Baird's Tapir Project
  A long-term project conducted by Charles Foerster in Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica, has studied this species in depth. A large number of tapirs have been radio-collared and their biology and movements are being studied.

Panama

• PHVA Executive Summary
  Baird's tapir Population and Habitat Viability Study for Panama, reprinted by permission of the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group. Did you know that eliminating only 3 to 6 percent of adult Baird's tapirs in Panama on a yearly basis could cause the species to decline in numbers rather than increase? Read all about it, and see what measures are being taken.
  

Colombia

Red Danta Colombia
In Spanish: Red Danta Colombia is an informal group of people that uses internet to communicate about its work with tapirs in Colombia. "Red Danta" means "tapir network." This is an exciting development in tapir conservation, and is still in its infancy.

Tapirs are endangered species.