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Tapirs:
Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan
Published 1997
Status and Action Plan of Baird's Tapir
(Tapirus bairdi)
continued from Previous Page
Belize
Status
Over 60% of the country is under some type of forest cover. Baird's tapir is found in all protected areas with the exception of Guanacaste National Park and Rio Blanco due to their isolation from contiguous forest. Considering the amount of suitable habitat and limited human populations (200,000-250,000 people) numbers of tapir are estimated to be somewhere between 680-3300 animals for the entire country (based upon Fragoso [1991a] and Williams [1984] data).
Detailed field studies of Baird's tapir are its preferred habitat were carried out by Fragoso (1991b) who found healthy tapir populations in the upper reaches of the Macal River Valley in the Chiquibul Forest Reserve. Subsequent follow-up studies have verified Fragoso's findings (Matola 1991, pers. obs. 1993, 1994). The animals are found in healthy populations due to the area's remote location, making human accessibility difficult and therefore limiting hunting pressure. There is an abundance of successional flood-plain vegetation, which is a preferred food source of Baird's tapir.
An area of particular interest is the Upper Raspaculo River, which drains into the Macal River and experiences flood conditions annually. Prolific growth of secondary vegetation results in a favored foraging area by tapirs. The Upper Raspaculo is situated within the Chiquibul National Park, and bordered by forest reserves. Due to its remote location, absence of human presence and pressures, and abundance of secondary growth vegetation, the Baird's tapir can be found in considerable numbers. However, the area has not been intensively studied. A species of wild cane was collected from this area showing obvious signs of having been eaten by tapir. When sent for identification to the Missouro Botanical Gardens, the cane was identified as a Tripsacum andersonii, a new plant record for the country.
Conservation laws and education
The Wildlife Preservation Act of 1981 states that it is unlawful to hunt tapir.
The Belize Audubon Society, the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center, The Belize Center for Environmental Studies, and Program for Belize are conservation non-governmental organizations actively involved in conservation and wildlife education in Belize.
Baird's tapir is the national animal of Belize. Wildlife conservation is taught in schools throughout the country. Posters depicting a Baird's tapir and her young have been widely distributed throughout Belize by the Belize Zoo. A new poster produced in 1996 stresses the important of preserving the habitat for conserving the species.
The Belize Zoo has three captive animals used as education resources to communicate to over 10,000 school children who visit each year, about the importance of the species and the need to conserve tapirs in the wild.
Captive breeding
The Belize Zoo currently has two males and a female of Baird's tapir.
Threats
Dam construction: The Upper Raspaculo River could be under serious threat in the future by a hydroelectric project. Efforts should be made to keep this habitat intact for this population of Baird's tapir, as well as for other endangered species found there.
Hunting: The increasing pressure of Asian
immigrants are a threat to the wildlife in Belize, including Baird's tapir. Illegal
hunting by Asian immigrants is a growing problem. Belizeans traditionally have not hunted
tapir for its meat. However, some reports from southern Belize, where the ethnic Garifuna
have settled, indicate that occasionally tapir is hunted and eaten. Hunting may be a
significant threat in Belize as tapir abundance was reduced significantly at a hunted
site, when compared to a site without hunting (Fragoso 1991a).
Guatemala
Status
Discussions with Guatemalan conservationists state that total figures of Baird's tapir in Guatemala lie between 1000 and 2500 individuals (S. Billy, L. Calvo pers. comm.). However, no detailed field studies have been undertaken for Baird's tapir. Reports from several biologists point towards certain locations supporting populations of Baird's tapir, which are overviewed as follows.
The Maya Biosphere Reserve, a 16,000km2 protected area in Dpto. El Peten, northern Guatemala, has a core area which allows no hunting, farming, or development. Estimates of tapir populations there suggest a population exceeding 1000 individuals. Laguna del Tigre National Park, also part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, supports healthy populations of tapir (S. Billy pers. comm.) as the habitat is ideal (S. Matola pers. obs). This large block of lowland tropical forests in northern Guatemala is one of the most important areas for the species, providing habitat to support stable populations of tapir. It also adjoins several important areas including the Rio Bravo Conservation Area, Belize (an additional 1060km2 of suitable tapir habitat); Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, Campeche; and protected and non-protected areas of the Selva Lacandona, Chiapas. The largest wilderness area (and tapir habitat) in Mesoamerica is comprised of El Peten together with adjacent areas in Belize, eastern Chiapas, Campeche, and Quintana Roo.
Another protected area where tapir are found in Guatemala is Sierra de las Minas, a 2400km2 block of forest which extends into cloud forest over 3000m high. Officials directing the management strategies for Sierra de las Minas estimate between 50-200 individuals occurring there.
Forested areas around Lake Izabel and forest remaining around Alta Vera Paz are said to be inhabited by Baird's tapir although no estimates of numbers have been suggested. Forests in Alta Vera Paz and northern El Quiché have been severely fragmented, but they still have considerable conservation potential (Cuarón pers. obs.).
Conservation laws and education
Ley de Areas Protegidas (Deceto 4-89) indicates that it is against the law to hunt tapirs in protected areas, as they are endangered species. However, the laws are often not actively enforced (March in litt.).
The institutional environment related to the conservation and management of biological diversity in Guatemala is complex (Lara 1992). There are several governmental and non-governmental organizations dealing with the management of protected areas. The Dirección General de Bosques y Vida Silvestre (DIGEBOS) administers 21 Parques Nacionales and the Instituto de Antropología e Historia (IDAEH) manages 24 Parques Nacionales associated with archaeological sites (Lara 1992). The Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (CONAP), part of the Comisión Nacional del Medio Ambiente (CONAMA), deals also with the management of protected areas, and has been active mostly with the Reserva de la Biósfera Maya. The Centro de Estudio Conservacionistas (CECON) of the Univeridad de San Carlos de Guatemala, controls seven biotopes (protected areas) totaling around 1360km2 (Lara 1992). Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza is involved with the management of Reserva de la Biósfera Sierra de las Minas. Fundación Amigos del Bosque, Fundación Mario Dary, Fundación Interamericana de Investigaciones Tropicales, and Wildlife Preservation Trust International (WPTI) are other active non-governmental organizations (Lara 1992). Conservation education, posters, booklets, and other educational materials are distributed by these organizations.
The Aurora Zoo, the National Zoo of Guatemala, includes environmental education as part of the zoo's profile. Other zoos in Guatemala have initiated environmental and conservation programs. A program of particular interest is forming in a small zoo (Petencito) in the city of Flores which is located on the edges of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Developing a sound conservation program would prove to be a beneficial strategy for this area of Guatemala, on behalf of Baird's tapir and other endangered species found in these forests.
Captive breeding
The Aurora zoo currently has one male Baird's tapir which was captive bred at a zoo in the U.S. A private facility in Guatemala City also has one male Baird's tapir from Dpto. El Peten, Guatemala.
Threats
In the northern Peten, increasing colonization into the Maya Biosphere Reserve is a serious problem. Moreover, subsistence farming by peasants migrating to the Dpto. El Peten from other areas of Guatemala increases annually. Increased human activity will affect all species of wildlife found there, including populations of Baird's tapir.
Logging activities and hunting threaten tapirs in Sierra de las Minas. If allowed to occur without monitoring, Baird's tapir would be negatively affected.