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Tapirus terrestris
– Vulnerable
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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PERISSODACTYLA
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Family:
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TAPIRIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Tapirus terrestris
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Species Authority:
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(Linnaeus, 1758)
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Common Name/s:
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| English | — | BRAZILIAN TAPIR, LOWLAND TAPIR, SOUTH AMERICAN TAPIR |
| French | — | TAPIR D'AMÉRIQUE, TAPIR TERRESTRE |
| Spanish | — | ANTA BRASILEÑA, ANTA, DANTA, TAPIR BRASILEÑO |
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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VU A2cd+3cd+4cd ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2002
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Assessor/s:
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Downer, C. & Castellanos, A. (Tapir Specialist Group)
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Evaluator/s:
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Shoemaker, A., Medici, P. & Todd, S. (Tapir Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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T. terrestris is considered Vulnerable across its entire range. The effects of deforestation, hunting, and competition from domestic livestock have all contributed to population declines and fragmentation in the past. Deforestation is increasing in certain parts of the species' range, while subsistence hunting and a developing wild-meat industry may cause further declines in the future. Further survey work is required for T. terrestris, although guerrilla activities in certain parts of the range make this difficult.
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History:
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| 1996 | - | Lower Risk/near threatened (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) |
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Geographic Range
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Countries:
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Native:
Argentina; Bolivia; Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; French Guiana; Guyana; Paraguay; Peru; Suriname; Venezuela
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Population
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Population:
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T. terrestris is considered Vulnerable across its entire range. In Brazil good populations only exist in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul states. In Amazonia there currently is abundant forest, but deforestation is increasing and it is suspected that in time the region will experience the same population fragmentation and reduction already experienced by tapir habitats in other regions. This is especially true in the Atlantic Rainforest and Cerrado Ecosystems.
Although T. terrestris may be common in some areas of Argentina, it is sensitive to deforestation and human activities and the species has already disappeared in many areas of transition between montane and Chaco forests in Anta (a department of Salta Province). Although control has been more effective during the past year in this province, tapirs are still affected by illegal timber activities, hunted, chased by dogs, and negatively impacted by competition with cattle.
Little information is available for the population in Guyana, however, tapirs are not protected here at present and are hunted by subsistence hunters as well as by a developing bush-meat industry as roads are cut into the forest for logging.
In Bolivia, tapirs are susceptible to hunting, and habitat degradation. While they may well be more common than expected in protected areas, as was found out in Costa Rica and elsewhere, they do not fare well in the presence of hunting. In Amazonian Bolivia, densities are estimated at 0.25 to 1.5 tapirs per sq. km in good habitat.
In French Guiana, tapirs are regularly hunted and sold commercially for meat in markets and restaurants. In the northern part of the country where most people live (and hunt), evidence of the species' presence is still found as footprints although sightings are rare (0.005-02 individuals/km). In the central and southern areas, the forest is undisturbed and tapirs are only hunted by indigenous people. Populations are thought to be higher although illegal gold mining could induce a growing impact as bush meat. Census programs are planned to study these remote areas.
In Venezuela, reports are based mostly on occasional sightings of individuals, tracks, droppings and hunting events. T. terrestris is widely distributed throughout the country, but it is absent in arid, high Andean and insular areas. It is more common to the south (Bolívar and Amazonas States). In this region the species is thoroughly hunted for local consumption. Populations in the mountains of the northern coast tend to be isolated and overall, the principal short-term risk is loss of habitat. The size of the tapir population in the country is unknown, but it is suspected a large number (over 10,000) to the south of the Orinoco River. Other potentially large populations exist north and west of the Orinoco in states adjacent to Colombia. Tapirs are only found in certain areas here but guerrilla activities make surveying difficult. A third potentially large tapir population may exist just in the Orinoco Delta. No surveys have been done, but an estimate of 5,000 may be reasonable.
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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Habitat and Ecology:
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T. terrestris inhabits lowland South American forests. Habitat association varies extensively, although the most important habitats tend to be moist, wet or seasonally inundated areas (Bodmer and Brooks 1997).
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System:
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Terrestrial
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List of Habitats:
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| 1.6 | Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland |
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Threats
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Threats:
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Main threats to the species include loss of habitat through deforestation, hunting for meat and competition with domestic livestock.
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List of Threats:
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| 1.1.2 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Wood plantations (ongoing) |
| 1.1.3 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Non-timber plantations (ongoing) |
| 1.3.3 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Extraction - Wood (ongoing) |
| 3.1.1 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food - Subsistence use/local trade (ongoing) |
| 3.1.2 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food - Sub-national/national trade (ongoing) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Included on CITES Appendix I.
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.1 | Policy-based actions - Management plans (needed) |
| 1.2.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - International level (needed) |
| 4.4.1 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Identification of new protected areas (needed) |
| 4.4.2 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Establishment (needed) |
| 4.4.3 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Management (needed) |
| 4.4.4 | Habitat and site-based actions - Protected areas - Expansion (needed) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Bodmer, R.E. and Brooks, D.M. 1997. Status and Action Plan of the Lowland Tapir (Tapirus terrestris). In: D.M. Brooks, R.E. Bodmer and S. Matola (eds). Tapirs - Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. pp: 46-56. IUCN. 2002. 2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 8 October 2002. Mace, G.M. and Balmford, A. 2000. Patterns and processes in contemporary mammalian extinction. In: A. Entwhistle and N. Dunstone (eds) Priorities for the Conservation of Mammalian Diversity. Has the Panda had its day?, pp. 27-52. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Rodríguez, J. P. and Rojas-Suárez, F. 1999. Libro Rojo de la Fauna Venezolana. 2da. edición. PROVITA, Fundación Polar. Caracas, Venezuela. Salas, L. 1996. Habitat use by lowland tapirs (Tapirus terrestris L.) in the Tabaro river valley, southern Venezuela. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74(8): 1452-1458. Salas, L. and Fuller, T. 1996. Diet of the lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris L.) in the Tabaro river valley, southern Venezuela. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74(8): 1444-1451. Tapir Specialist Group. For more information, see the Specialist Group website Torres, D. and Gutiérrez, E. 2001. The genus Tapirus in Venezuela: distribution and suggestions for its conservation. Symposium Program Schedule and Presentation Abstracts. First International Tapir Symposium. November 3-8, 2001. San José, Costa Rica.
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