Record and Track Description of a Baird’s Tapir Juvenile in the North of Oaxaca

Abstract

The presence of Baird’s tapir Tapirus bairdii in the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca in Southern Mexico has been previously reported by Lira et al. (2006), using track records and information obtained through interviews. Seven years later, its presence was confirmed with pictures (Lavariega et al., 2013), bone remains, and tracks (Peña et al., in press). Subsequently, after three surveys with camera traps in the Sierra de Villa Alta (17°29’23”N 96°7’45.6”W; 1499 masl), additional pictures of adult animals have been obtained (personal observation, Mario C. Lavariega; Figure 1).

Full text

TAPIR CONSERVATION
The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group www.tapirs.org
ISSN 1813-2286
Volume 24 • No. 33
July 2015

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE IUCN/SSC TAPIR SPECIALIST GROUP
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
2
Volume 24  No. 33  July 2015
From the Editor 3
Letter from the Editor
Anders Gonçalves da Silva 3
Conservation 4
Presencia y primeras fotografías del Tapir de Tierras Bajas
(Tapirus terrestris) en el Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo,
Córdoba, Colombia
Javier Racero-Casarrubia y Andrés Arias-Alzate 4
Vampire bats bite lowland tapirs in Yasuni National Park,
Ecuador
Armando X. Castellanos P. and Gabriela A. Banegas V. 7
Crop-raiding Baird’s Tapir Provoke Diverse Reactions from
Subsistence Farmers in Belize
Siân Waters 8
Reintroduced Andean tapir attacks a person in the Antisana
Ecological Reserve, Ecuador
Armando Castellanos and Leopoldo Gomez 11
Record and track description of a Baird’s tapir juvenile in the
north of Oaxaca
Luis David Camarillo-Chávez, Mario C. Lavariega and Miguel
Briones-Salas 13
Contributions 15
Integrating current range-wide occurrence data with species
distribution models to map the potential distribution of Baird’s
Tapir
Cody Schank, Eduardo Mendoza, Manolo J. García Vettorazzi,
Michael V. Cove, Christopher A. Jordan, Georgina O‘Farrill, Ninon
Meyer, Diego J. Lizcano, Nereyda Estrada, Celso Poot, and Raquel
Leonardo 15
Tapir Specialist Group Members 26
Instructions for Authors 31
Tapir Specialist Group Structure 33
CONTENTS
Abbreviation Tapir Cons.
ISSN 1813-2286
Website www.tapirs.org
Contributions Anders Gonçalves da Silva (Australia)
Editor E-mail: andersgs@gmail.com
Layout Editor Danielle Lalonde (Australia)
Online Editor Kara Masharani (United States)
Editorial Board Patrícia Medici
E-mail: epmedici@uol.com.br; medici@ipe.org.br
Anders Gonçalves da Silva (Australia)
Carl Traeholt (Denmark/Malaysia)
Mathias Tobler (Switzerland/Peru)
Diego J. Lizcano (Colombia)
Matthew Colbert (United States)
Budhan Pukazhenthi (United States)
Benoit de Thoisy (French Guiana)
Cover photo: CECON-USAC /CONAP 2015 - Tapirs in ”aguada” at
Biotopo Protegido Naachtún Dos Lagunas, Reserva de Biosfera Maya,
Guatemala. Research & Monitoring Program CECON-USAC.
The views expressed in
Tapir Conservation
are those of the authors and
do not necessarily reflect those of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group
or Houston Zoological Gardens. This publication may be photocopied
for private use only and the copyright remains that of the Tapir Specialist
Group. Copyright for all photographs herein remains with the individual
photographers.
TAPIR CONSERVATION

FROM THE EDITOR
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
3
FROM THE EDITOR
Dear Tapir Conservation readers.
Welcome back. This is our first issue of 2015, and
our first since the International Tapir Symposium in
Campo Grande at the end of last year. In this issue, we
start to introduce some changes that were discussed
during the Symposium, aimed at making things easier
for our readers and, and to increase the impact of
the terrific work we receive for publication in our
Newsletter.
The first thing to change is our name. The Newsletter
will now be called simply Tapir Conservation. We feel
this encapsulates our main mission of publishing work
on the natural history, biology, and conservation of
tapirs worldwide, making us an instantly recognizable
brand and immediately conveying to readers what they
can expect. Befitting our new title, this issue is packed
with interesting conservation stories, two in particular
deserve attention because they deal with the often little
spoken issue of tapir-human conflict. However, the
main contribution to this issue, alluded to by the cover
photo of two Baird’s tapirs, is a massive collaborative
effort by Baird’s tapir range country TSG members to
generate new distribution maps for the species. I would
like to congratulate Cody Schank and Manolo Garcia
for their efforts in coordinating the data collation and
producing the maps, and to all the co-authors that
contributed data to the enterprise. This will be a most
valuable resource for the conservation of Baird’s tapir,
and a lesson on what we can achieve when we work
together.
The second change is designed to position Tapir
Conservation not only as a vehicle for disseminating
information but also as a clearing house for data
relevant to the conservation of tapirs. From this issue
forward, we will be instituting a new data sharing
policy. The potential benefits of this new policy are
already apparent with the new Baird’s tapir range
maps published in this issue, where we are not only
publishing the maps but also the majority of the data
used to produce the maps. Such data can now be used
for any number of new ventures that will contribute
positively to the conservation of tapirs.
The policy, in essence, makes it a condition for
publication in Tapir Conservation that the raw data
used to generate the results and conclusions of
a manuscript be publicly available on an online
database. The policy is grounded on the following three
principles:
Open Access: Tapir Conservation promotes
free and open access to data, information and
knowledge for conservation purposes.
Mutual Benefit: Tapir Conservation requires
authors to contribute data, information and
knowledge in a format accessible electronically.
Tapir Conservation encourages both authors
and users to use publicly available data in
support of tapir conservation.
Rights and Responsibilities: Contributors to
Tapir Conservation have full right to attribution
for any uses of their data, information, or
knowledge, and the right to ensure that
the original integrity of their contribution
is preserved. Users of data shared through
Tapir Conservation are expected to comply,
in good faith, with terms of uses specified by
contributors and in accordance with these
Principles.
We choose this approach because there is abundant
evidence that data sharing is considerably beneficial
to the advancement of science and conservation. Such
a policy has been implemented in many of the top
journals, and is recommended by the IUCN. However,
as outlined in our principles, we do understand that
the authors worked hard to gather their data, and
thus we are taking every step to guarantee that authors
get full credit whenever someone uses their data. As
such, the data is shared under one of two possible
Creative Commons license agreements. A full detailed
account of the new policy, including information on the
licensing model, can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/
qdt4gkl.
The third and final change is a move towards a
more active online presence for Tapir Conservation.
This will be achieved through two different measures:
Tapir Conservation is starting its own Facebook page
(LINK); and, all published material will have its own
independent PDF, which will be deposited online and
linked to a permanent DOI (a digital object identifier)
number. We hope that through our Facebook page we
will be able to reach a wider audience. We will advertise
individual papers, and we are moving our Research
Spotlight permanently to the Facebook page. Moving
to individual PDFs will allow us to publish work
online early, reducing the time between acceptance
and release, and the individual DOI numbers will give
authors a tool to track how their work is being cited.
We hope these new changes to Tapir Conservation
will help you, our reader, take more out of the
Newsletter. In the meantime, please enjoy our current
issue.
With warm regards.
Anders Gonçalves da Silva, PhD
Editor

CONSERVATION
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
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Palabras clave: Área Protegida, Cámaras automáticas, Danta Colombiana.
Keywords: Camera trap, Colombian Tapir, Protected Area
El Tapir de Tierras Bajas Tapirus terrestris es una de las tres especies de tapires presentes en el
territorio colombiano y es la especie más ampliamente distribuida del género. Esta especie se registra
por lo general en bosques de tierras bajas hasta los 1200 o 1500 msnm (Hershkovitz, 1954), aunque se ha
reportado en altitudes superiores a los 2000 msnm (Constantino et al., 2006). Actualmente esta especie
se encuentra catalogada
como Vulnerable (VU) a nivel
mundial (Nevada et al., 2008),
mientras que en Colombia la
subespecie Tapirus terrestris
colombianus se encuentra
catalogada como en Peligro
Crítico (CR) (Constantino
et al., 2006). En Colombia
la especie se encuentra
distribuida en la Orinoquia y
Amazonia (Tapirus terrestris
terrestris), y en las tierras
bajas del norte el país
(Danta Colombiana, Tapirus
terrestris colombianus)
(Hershkovitz, 1954; Padilla
& Dowler, 1994; Arias-Alzate
et al., 2009). Históricamente
Hershkovitz (1954) reportó
la presencia de la Danta
Colombiana en el noroccidente
del país, donde se la consideraba
actualmente extinta, aunque
en los últimos años se
sugirió su posible presencia
Figura 1. Ubicación geográfica del registro del Tapir de Tierras Bajas (Tapirus
terrestris colombianus) en la cuenca hidrográfica del Río Manso, PNN Paramillo,
Córdoba. Colombia. (Alto Río Sinú, localidad reportada por Hershkovitz (1954);
Nororiente Antioquia, algunas localidades reportadas por Arias-Alzate et al.
(2009).
CONSERVATION
Presencia y primeras fotografías del Tapir de Tierras Bajas
(Tapirus terrestris) en el Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo,
Córdoba, Colombia
Javier Racero-Casarrubia1,2,3 y Andrés Arias-Alzate4,5
1 Grupo Biodiversidad-Universidad de Córdoba, Colombia
2 Funcionario Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo, Parques Nacionales Naturales de Colombia
3 Fundación Ecosistemas del Caribe
4 IUCN/ SSC Tapir Specialist Group & Grupo de Mastozoología, Universidad de Antioquia. Medellín, Colombia. AA 1226.
5 Laboratorio de Análisis Espaciales, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México-UNAM, México D.F., 04340, México.
andresarias3@yahoo.es
Autor para correspondencia: Javier Racero-Casarrubia, javierracero@yahoo.es

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
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en el Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo
(entre los departamentos de Córdoba y
Antioquia) (Arias-Alzate et al., 2009;
Racero-Casarrubia & Hernández, 2010).
En el departamento de Córdoba, Colombia
actualmente se considera como una de las
16 especies de mamíferos amenazados en
jurisdicción de la Corporación Autónoma
Regional de los Valles del Sinú y San Jorge
(Rodríguez-Mahecha, 2006).
Aquí documentamos, luego de más de
60 años sin reportes, el primer registro y
las primeras fotografías que confirma la
presencia actual del Tapir de Tierras Bajas
(correspondiente a la subespecie Tapirus
terrestris colombianus, única subespecie
presente geográficamente en el noroccidente
de Colombia sensu Hershkovitz, 1954; Padilla
& Dowler, 1994) en el Parque Nacional Natural
Paramillo en el departamento de Córdoba,
noroccidente de Colombia. Esto representa
actualmente un registro notable en un área
protegida y contribuye al conocimiento de
la especie en su distribución natural en
Colombia.
La localidad del registro está ubicada en la vereda
Zancón situada en la cuenca hidrográfica del Río
Manso y en la micro cuenca de la quebrada Crisanta
(07°40´02.5´´N, 076°05´50.5´´W), a 200 msnm en
un área de bosques en las llanuras inundables del
Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo (PNN Paramillo)
en el departamento de Córdoba, al noroccidente de
Colombia (Figura 1). De acuerdo con el sistema de
clasificación de Holdridge, esta área corresponde al
bosque húmedo tropical (bh-T). Los registros fueron
obtenidos a partir de la iniciativa del parque en
documentar la biodiversidad presente en la zona y así
mejorar las estrategias de conservación de aquellas
especies consideradas en su plan de manejo VOC
(Valor Objeto de Conservación). Estos registros se
obtuvieron por medio del uso de cámaras automáticas
o cámaras trampa (Bushnell Trophy Cam) dispuestas
en modo fotográfico. En total en el área se instalaron
dos cámaras del 5 de marzo al 28 de abril de 2014
a una distancia aproximada de 1.2 Km y ubicadas
aproximadamente a 50 cm desde el suelo con la
siguiente configuración: fotos con resolución de 5MP,
autosensor infrarrojo para día y noche, una foto por
evento e intervalo de un minuto entre fotos.
En total se obtuvo un esfuerzo de muestre de 104
cámaras/noche (52 noches efectivas de muestreo),
durante el cual se recopilaron 116 fotografías de la
especie. Estas fotografías fueron tomadas por una
sola cámara los días 12, 14 y 24 de abril de 2014,
entre las 01 y 05 hrs, en un sendero al interior de
uno de los bosques primarios de la zona, en donde
predominan las especies de plantas coronillo (Bellucia
sp.) y cordoncillo (Piper sp.) las cuales son reconocidas
localmente como alimento de la especie. Es importante
mencionar la identificación de al menos un macho
y una hembra a partir del reconocimiento de los
órganos reproductivos observados en estas fotografías
obtenidas en la localidad.
Este nuevo registro fotográfico de la danta o “burro
danto” (Figura 2) como es conocido por las comunidades
campesinas locales, es de gran relevancia puesto que
luego de 60 años sin registros confirma la presencia
de esta especie en la zona, además es interesante por
ser las primeras evidencias de la especie al interior de
un área protegida en el noroccidente del país (Figura
1), siendo esta subespecie la menos representada
en el SINAP (Sistema Nacional de Áreas Protegidas)
para Colombia, donde únicamente se registraba para
el PNN Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. En esta zona
del noroccidente, Hershkovitz (1954) a nivel histórico
reconocía la presencia de la Danta Colombiana
(Tapirus terrestres colombianus) y su simpatría con
el Tapir Centroamericano Tapirus bairdii en la región
del alto valle del Río San Jorge al occidente de la
Serranía de Abibe en la región de Urabá, y en la
margen derecha del Río Atrato en los departamentos
de Antioquia y Chocó, así como en la zona del alto
valle del Río Sinú, en el departamento de Córdoba.
Zonas donde actualmente la Danta Colombiana se
consideraba extinta localmente (Hershkovitz, 1954;
Montenegro, 2005). Es importante mencionar que los
reportes actuales de Tapirus terrestris colombianus en
el PNN Paramillo, provienen de registros secundarios
no confirmados (como caminaderos o senderos de
la especie, comederos y huellas), y si bien Racero-
Casarrubia & Hernández (2010) reportan su presencia
así como la de T. bairdii para algunos sectores del
parque, los registros actuales más cercanos a esta área
Figura 2. Individuo de Tapir de Tierras Bajas (Tapirus terrestris
colombianus) registrado en el PNN Paramillo, Córdoba, Colombia.
(Fotografía: Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo. Archivo Parques
Nacionales Naturales de Colombia).

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
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protegida se encuentran en la zona del nororiente de
Antioquia a 162 km de distancia en promedio (Arias-
Alzate et al. 2009).
Es importante resaltar que la zona del registro en
el PNN Paramillo es uno de los sitios de interés para la
investigación y conservación de grandes mamíferos en
Colombia, ya que se caracteriza por presentar grandes
extensiones de selva húmeda tropical en buen estado
de conservación, las cuales son reconocidas como
hábitats permanentes de otras especies, como el jaguar
(Panthera onca), el puma (Puma concolor), y el oso de
anteojos (Tremarctos ornatus) (Rodriguez-Mahecha et
al. 2006; PNN PAR, 2014). Sin embargo, es preocupante
la conservación de la Danta Colombiana así como de las
demás especies en el futuro inmediato, actualmente la
zona presenta inquietantes procesos de fragmentación,
desforestación y transformación del bosque nativo, así
como también la amenaza que genera el desarrollo de
un posible proyecto hidroeléctrico de gran escala, el
cual cubriría gran parte del área donde se presentó
el registro, lo que pone en peligro la existencia de
la especie en la zona. Por ello, esta área protegida
junto con los bosque nativos remanentes en el zona
representan unos de los pocos ecosistemas naturales
importantes para el Departamento de Córdoba, no
solamente para la protección de esta especie, sino
también porque representan áreas estratégicas para la
biodiversidad y su conexión con otros ecosistemas al
occidente (ej. Selvas inundables del Urabá y Selvas del
Darién en los departamentos de Antioquia y Chocó) y
oriente de la región (ej. Bosques de Bajo Cauca-Nechí
en Antioquia), y por tanto de la conservación de los
servicios ambientales del territorio.
En este sentido, como una de las iniciativas del
PNN Paramillo se ha propuesto realizar estudios
poblacionales de la especie para el sector Manso-
Tigre-Sinú, en un área que abarca 25.000 hectáreas
aproximadamente (Racero-Casarrubia, obs. pers.),
para así identificar áreas y corredores claves para la
protección y conservación de esta especie, además
de realizar trabajos de educación ambiental con las
comunidades, orientados a dar a conocer la importancia
del Tapir de Tierras Bajas en los ecosistemas de selva
húmeda presentes en el Departamento de Córdoba y
así contribuir con su conservación a largo plazo no
solamente en Colombia, sino también en el Neotrópico.
Agradecimientos
Se agradece a Mario Molina auxiliar de campo
del Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo, a Pedro
Hernández -Echavarría, Al jefe de área Protegida
– (PNN Paramillo) Antonio Martínez Negrete, Luis
Alfonso Cano (Coordinador Grupo de Comunicaciones
y Educación Ambiental, Parques Nacionales Naturales
de Colombia) y a los revisores anónimos por sus
valiosos comentarios al manuscrito. Las fotografías
aquí reportadas hacen parte del banco de imágenes del
Parque Nacional Natural Paramillo. La implementación
y escritura de los nombres comunes se baso en lo
sugerido por Viquez-R et al. (2014).
Literatura citada
Arias-Alzate, A., Palacio-V, J.A. & Muñoz-Duran, J. 2009.
Nuevos registros de distribución y oferta de hábitat de
la danta colombiana (Tapirus terrestris colombianus)
en las tierras bajas del norte de la Cordillera Central
(Colombia). Mastozoología Neotropical 16(1): 19-25.
Constantino, E., Lizcano D., Montenegro, O. & Solano, C.
2006. Danta común. Tapirus terrestris. En: Rodríguez-
Mahecha., J. V., M. Alberico, F. Trujillo & J. Jorgenson
(eds.). Libro rojo de los Mamíferos de Colombia, pp.
108-115. Serie Libros Rojos de Especies Amenazadas
de Colombia. Conservación Internacional Colombia,
Ministerio del Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo
Territorial. Bogotá, Colombia. Bogotá, Colombia.
Hershkovitz, P. 1954. Mammals of the northern Colombia,
preliminary report No.7: Tapirs (Genus Tapirus), with
a systematic review of American species. Proceedings of
the United States NationalMuseum 103(3329):465-496.
Holdridge, L.R. 1947. Determination of world plant
formations from simple climatic data. Science 105
(2727): 367-368.
Montenegro, O. 2005. Programa nacional para la
conservación del género Tapirus en Colombia.
Ministerio de Ambiente, Vivienda y Desarrollo
Territorial. Dirección de Ecosistemas. Bogotá,
Colombia.
Naveda, A., de Thoisy, B., Richard-Hansen, C., Torres, D.A.,
Salas, L., Wallance, R., Chalukian, S. & de Bustos,
S. 2008. Tapirus terrestris. The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.
org. [accessed 16 July 2014].
Padilla, M. & Dowler, R. 1994. Tapirus terrestris.
Mammalian species 481:1-8.
PNN PAR. 2014. Plan de Manejo Ambiental del Parque
Nacional Natural Paramillo. Ministerio de Ambiente y
Desarrollo Sostenible. Parques Nacionales Naturales de
Colombia.
Racero-Casarrubia, J., Hernández, P. 2010. Notas acerca
del estado de conservación y distribución de la Danta
Tapirus terrestris en el Parque Nacional Natural
Paramillo. Tapir Conservation 19(2): 13-21.
Rodríguez-Mahecha, J. V., Alberico, M., Trujillo, F.
& Jorgenson, J. (eds.). 2006. Libro Rojo de los
Mamíferos de Colombia. Serie Libros Rojos de Especies
Amenazadas de Colombia. Conservación Internacional
Colombia, Instituto de Ciencias Naturales–Universidad
Nacional de Colombia, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente.
Bogotá, Colombia.
Víquez-R, L., Arias-Alzate, A., Hurtado-Moreno, A. &
González-Maya, J.F. 2014. Una propuesta para
homogenizar la escritura y el uso de nombres comunes
en mastozoología. Mammalogy Notes 1(2): 15-17

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
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Figure 1. Lowland tapir predation by a vampire bat at the
Añangu salt lick in the Yasuni National Park. Photo credits:
Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador
Figure 2. Vampire bat feeding on lowland tapir at the Añangu
salt lick. Photo credits: Ministerio del Ambiente del Ecuador
Figure 3. Dead lowland tapir found at the Añangu salt lick.
Cause unknown. Photo credits: Ministerio del Ambiente del
Ecuador
Vampire bats bite lowland tapirs in
Yasuni National Park, Ecuador
Armando X. Castellanos P.1,3 and Gabriela A.
Banegas V.2
1IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group, Ecuador.
2Escuela Politécnica del Chimborazo, Ecuador.
3Andean Bear Foundation, Pasaje S24B, Oe5-
142, La Isla, Quito, Ecuador. email:iznachi@
gmail.com
In the rainforest, vampire bats (Desmodus
rotundus) have large mammals such as
tapirs, deer, peccaries, cattle, monkeys,
birds, and sometimes humans, among their
victims (Albuja et al., 2012; Tirira, 2007).
Vampire bats have been listed as carriers
and reservoir host of rabies (Streicker et al.,
2012; Corrêa et al., 2014). Here, we report
photographic evidence obtained from camera-
traps of vampire bats feeding on lowland
tapirs (Tapirus terrestris).
Reports of vampire bat attack are generally
based only on the scars present on their victims,
and photographic evidence or video footage is
extremely rare. The photos we present were
taken in 2012, at a salt lick close to the Añangu
checkpoint in the Yasuni National Park. They
clearly display a vampire bat feeding on a
lowland tapir individual.
Unfortunately, after the photos were taken
the tapir died, but it is difficult to say if the
death was caused by rabies. This would require
sampling of the vampire bats population to rule
out or confirm an outbreak of the disease.
References
Albuja, L., A. Almendariz, R. Barriga, L.D. Montalvo,
F. Caceres y J.L. Román. 2012. Fauna de
vertebrados del Ecuador. Instituto de ciencias
biológicas. Escuela Politécnica Nacional. Quito,
Ecuador.
Corrêa, K., Iamamoto, K., Miyuki, K., Mori, E.,
Estevez, A., Achkar, S. y Oliveira,W. 2014.
Murciélagos hematófagos como reservorios de la
rabia. Revista Peruana de Medicina Experimental
y Salud Pública. 31:302-309.
Streicker, D. G., Recuenco, S., Valderrama, W.,
Gomez Benavides, J., Vargas, I., Pacheco, V.,
Condori R., Montgomery, J., Rupprecht, C., Rohani,
P., and Altizer, S. 2012. Ecological and anthropogenic
drivers of rabies exposure in vampire bats: implications
for transmission and control. Proceedings of the
Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 279: 3384–3392.
doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.0538
Tirira, D. 2007. Guía de campo de los mamíferos del
Ecuador. Ediciones Murciélago Blanco. Publicación
especial sobre los mamíferos del Ecuador 6. Quito. 576
pp.

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8
Crop-raiding Baird’s Tapir Provoke
Diverse Reactions from Subsistence
Farmers in Belize
Siân Waters1
1Director, Sociocultural Conservation, Bristol, UK &
Barbary Macaque Awareness & Conservation, Tetouan,
Morocco Email: sian@barbarymacaque.org
Keywords: Belize, crop-raiding, farmer-tapir relations
Agricultural areas where people grow crops to
feed themselves and their families are often
physically enclosed by a fence or represented by a
forest edge (Figure 1). The purpose of these physical
boundaries is obvious to people but not necessarily
recognised by the wild animals they are designed
to obstruct (Waters, 2014). Wild animals that cross
these boundaries to feed on agricultural crops
are commonly referred to by researchers as crop-
raiders. A major grievance of subsistence farmers
is the damage that crop-raiders do or farmers
believe they might do to their crops and thus their
livelihoods. Political, social and/or cultural factors
as well as livelihood constraints will influence a
farmer’s reaction to wildlife crop-raiders (Hill,
1997; Riley, 2007; Waters, 2014).
There are anecdotal reports of tapir crop-raiding
behaviour in many parts of their range (Waters et al.,
2006). Published information includes a record of
conflicts between subsistence farmers and crop-raiding
mountain tapirs (Tapirus pinchaque) in Colombia
(Suarez & Lizcano, 2002), and a violent confrontation
between a crop-raiding tapir (T. terrestris) and a
farmer in south-eastern Brazil which resulted in
the deaths of both (Haddad et al., 2005). There are
also reports of retaliatory killing of Baird’s tapir (T.
bairdii) for crop-raiding from Campeche state in
southern Mexico (Reyna-Hurtado & Tanner, 2007) and
Nicaragua (Koster, 2006).
In Belize, Baird’s tapir was found to use riparian
forest fragments and the surrounding agricultural
mosaics, inevitably bringing it into close contact with
people (Waters & Ulloa, 2007). This species is the
national animal of Belize and is protected by national
laws; however, any tapir threatening crops or livestock
can legally be shot (Anon, 2000). The Wildlife Division of
the Belize government expressed an interest in finding
out the extent of crop-raiding by Baird’s tapir. Here,
I report results of a survey focusing on subsistence
farmers and their relationship with Baird’s tapir in
Belize and describe the range of different approaches
to tapir crop-raiding behaviour. The quantitative data
are based on the results of a questionnaire survey
regarding farmer-wildlife coexistence in Belize.
Belize has one of the lowest human populations in
Central America with ~240,000 inhabitants (Roberts,
2000) and over a third of its territory is protected in
some way by conservation legislation (Anon, 2000).
Agricultural practices differ depending on geographical
location and, to a lesser extent, on ethnic group. Mayan
farmers practice the milpa system of agriculture,
the small scale slash-and-burn system of alternating
cultivation and fallow based on indigenous knowledge
of forest regeneration dynamics (Emch, 2003). The
Mestizo (Indian/Spanish) population also practices the
milpa system but allocates more land to pasture for
cattle ranching (Carr, 2004).
I used a structured questionnaire to interview
subsistence farmers regarding their perceptions about
crop-raiding mammals in Belize. The survey took place
over 12 weeks during March and May 2006. I surveyed
villages outside protected areas which were selected by
the wildlife department because the people who inhabit
them are predominantly dependent on subsistence
agriculture. The target survey population comprised
men and boys over 16 years of age permanently
residing in the selected village. Men and boys were
chosen after my pilot study showed that women in
Belize do not generally participate in milpa agriculture
and were unable to answer many of my questions. I
administered the questionnaire to an adult man in
every sixth house in the village. If no adult men were at
home I continued to the next house.
The survey team consisted of two people, an
interviewer and a translator for those respondents who
spoke only Spanish. I told the potential respondent
that I was undertaking a survey about their agricultural
practices. Participants were assured of anonymity and
I asked their age and ethnic identity along with socio-
economic questions regarding their main occupation,
the crops they grew, and what issues positively
and negatively affected their harvest. If wildlife was
mentioned as a limiting factor on the respondent’s
harvest, then I asked which species caused the problem,
how they caused it, and how farmers reacted to it. Data
presented in percentage frequencies may sum to over
100% in questions eliciting multiple responses.
In total, 168 adult men of 23-72 years were
interviewed during the survey across 63 villages located
in all districts of Belize. We interviewed 2-3 men per
village depending on their availability. Agriculture was
the occupation for 73.2 % of those interviewed. Overall,
corn was the most widely grown crop cultivated by
84.5% of respondents. Four wild mammals > 2kg
were reported by more than 20% of respondents

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as being crop-raiders. White-nosed coatimundis
(Nasua narica), peccaries (Tayassu sp.) and raccoons
(Procyon lotor) were reported by 64%, 63% and 37% of
respondents, respectively. Baird’s tapir was reported
as a crop-raider by 28% of respondents.
Respondents from 51 villages reported the presence
of tapirs and 35 (69%) of those villages reported crop
losses due to this species. Respondents reported that
crops most frequently consumed by Baird’s tapir were
young bean shoots (60%), corn (57%) and plantain
(11%) with cabbage, pineapple, potatoes, water melon
and yam also reported as consumed by the species
during crop-raiding events. Of those respondents
reporting tapirs as a problem, 6% admitted killing
them in retaliation for crop damage. For example, one
respondent reported:
The tapir eats my corn every night so when I see
a tapir I shoot it to eat it so I get to benefit from
all that corn of mine it has eaten.
This statement corroborates reports from other
areas of Baird’s tapir distribution where subsistence
farmers will not forego an opportunity to kill a tapir that
may be responsible for consuming and damaging crops
(Estrada, 2006; Koster, 2006). In Bosawas reserve, in
Nicaragua, a conservation agreement with indigenous
people to reduce unsustainable hunting stipulated
that crop-raiding tapirs could still be hunted, thus
acknowledging the concern felt by local people that
their crops are likely to be raided (Koster, 2006).
Other respondents in this survey did not consider
lethal retaliation as an option and some compromised
by altering their farming practices in response to heavy
crop-raiding by tapirs. Seven respondents stated they
expected tapirs and other wildlife would visit their
fields, so they planted “enough for all”. In the Toledo
district, six respondents reported giving up cultivating
their milpa due to the presence of a tapir. For instance:
I abandoned my bean field in the forest because
the tapir ate all the plants. She had a calf so she
was hungry.
The status of the Baird’s tapir as the national
animal of Belize is important to some respondents with
ten farmers stating they tolerated tapir crop-raiding
“because it is the national animal”.
In Central America, there are differences in
people’s preference for tapir meat and it is considered
unpalatable by some communities in southern Mexico
and north eastern Honduras (Jorgenson, 1995; Reyna-
Hurtada & Tanner, 2007; Dunn et al., 2012). However,
whether an animal is good to eat or not is immaterial
to an angry farmer retaliating in response to a crop-
raiding event. In this study, some individuals admitted
they killed and consumed crop-raiding Baird’s tapir but
this was not a universal response to the problem. Some
subsistence farmers attributed greater importance to
the tapir’s status as the Belizean national animal than
any crop losses they sustained due to the species’
crop-raiding behaviour. Most of the ethnographic data
presented here are the result of informal conversations
which took place after the questionnaires had been
administered and respondents felt relaxed and more
likely to discuss issues they felt important. I would thus
recommend that future work employ semi-structured
interviews rather than a questionnaire survey. Further
data are needed to better understand the interaction
between farmers and tapirs. This study suggests
a remarkable heterogeneity in subsistence farmer’s
relations with tapirs. This heterogeneity was observed
both within and among villages. It thus important
that tapir conservationists working with farming
communities outside protected areas work with local
villagers to understand their individual perceptions of
tapirs and what influences their behaviour towards the
animals.
Acknowledgements
The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)
financially supported this study. I am grateful to the
Belize Wildlife Department and particularly to Oscar
Ulloa for his assistance throughout the survey. Thanks
to David Barclay of RZSS for his assistance with
Figure 1. Maize being cultivated adjacent to the forest
edge in Belize

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fieldwork. I thank Lucy Radford and two anonymous
reviewers for their useful comments on an earlier
version of this manuscript.
References
Anon. (2000). Belize Wildlife Protection Act. Revised
edition 2000, Chapter 220, part II. Sections 5.1 & 5.2.
Retrieved 23rd March 2014.
Carr, D.L. (2004). Ladino and Q’eqchi Maya land use and
land clearing in the Sierra de Lacandon National Park,
Peten, Guatemala. Agriculture and Human Values
21:171-179.
Dunn, M., Estrada, N. & Smith, D.A. (2012). The
coexistence of Baird’s tapir and indigenous hunters in
northeastern Honduras. Integrative Zoology 7:429-438.
Emch, M. (2003). The human ecology of Mayan cacao
farming in Belize. Human Ecology 31:111-131.
Estrada, N. (2006). Humans attacked by a Baird’s tapir
(Tapirus bairdii) in the Sierra de Agalta National Park,
Olancho, Honduras. Tapir Conservation 15:13-14.
Haddad, V. Assuncao, M.C., de Mello, R.C., & Duarte,
M.R. (2005). A fatal attack caused by a lowland tapir
(Tapirus terrestris) in southeastern Brazil. Wilderness
& Environmental Medicine 16: 97-100.
Hill, C.M. (1997). Crop-raiding by wild vertebrates: the
farmer’s perspective in an agricultural community in
western Uganda. Int. J. of Pest Management 43:77-84.
Jorgenson, J.P. (1995). Maya subsistence hunters in
Quintana Roo, Mexico. Oryx 29:49-57.
Koster, J.M. (2006). Assessing the suitability of Baird’s
tapir hunting in the Bosawas Reserve, Nicaragua. Tapir
Conservation 15:23-28.
Reyna-Hurtado, R. & Tanner, G.W. (2007). Ungulate relative
abundance in hunted and non-hunted sites in Calakmul
Forest (southern Mexico). Biodiversity and Conservation
16:743-756.
Riley, E.P. (2007). The human-macaque interface:
conservation implications of current and future overlap
and conflict in Lore Lindu National Park, Sulawesi,
Indonesia. American Anthropologist 109:473-484.
Roberts, S.A. (2000). National Population and Housing
Census 2000, Report No.1. Retrieved 30th September
2009.
Suarez, J.A. & Lizcano, D.J. (2002). Conflict between
mountain tapirs (Tapirus pinchaque) and farmers in the
Colombian High Andes. Tapir Conservation 11:18-20.
Waters, S. (2014). Including People in Primate
Conservation: A Case Study of Shepherds and Barbary
Macaques in Bouhachem Forest, North Morocco. PhD
thesis, Durham, UK.
Waters, S. Lizcano, D.J. & Chalukian, S. (2006). Human-
tapir conflicts working group. Tapir Conservation 15:8.
Waters, S. & Ulloa, O. (2007). Occurrence of Baird’s tapir
outside protected areas in Belize. Tapir Conservation
16:17-20.

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11
Reintroduced Andean tapir attacks
a person in the Antisana Ecological
Reserve, Ecuador
The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is
often perceived as a peaceful and quiet animal.
This view has been re-enforced by domestication
accounts that suggest mountain tapirs can be
very docile and friendly after a relatively short
time (Crandall, 1964; Gale and Sedgwick, 1968).
However, wild tapirs are known to occasionally
display aggressive behaviour, which when directed
towards humans can cause dangerously deep wounds
(Schauenberg, 1969). In our own work, we have
observed aggressive behavior by females protecting
their calves. (Castellanos, 1994; Downer, 1996;
Castellanos, 2013). Farmers have also reported
observing tapirs displaying similarly aggressive
behavior when defending themselves from Andean
bear predators (Tremarctos ornatus). Finally, it
has been also been reported that male mountain
tapirs can fight fiercely among themselves inflicting
deep bites on ears and hind limbs (Schauenberg,
1969). We do not understand what triggers such
behaviour, nor whether such behavior is common
in the species, or if it is a trait that varies across
individuals.
There are few documented cases of wild releases of
captive-bred mountain tapirs. A unique case occurred
in the 1990s with a female tapir named Esperanza,
released in the Bosque Protector Pasochoa (or Protected
Forest ‘Pasochoa’) in Ecuador. Though she was born in
the wild, she was rescued as a calf, reared in captivity
and subsequently released at eight months of age.
Esperanza was released wearing a radio collar, which
allowed her to be tracked for 14 months following her
release (Castellanos, 1994). During her eight months
in captivity, and the 14 months following her release,
we did not register a single display of aggression. In
a similar case, a male tapir named Poncho, rescued
in 2005 as a calf and kept in captivity on a farm in
the Corporacion Autonoma Regional Alto Magdalena,
Colombia (Sergio Sandoval, pers. com.). Here, as in
the case above, there are no registered displays of
aggression towards humans. Contrastingly, a number
of fatal attacks inflicted by wild lowland tapirs (Tapirus
terrestris) (Haddad et al., 2005), and non-fatal attacks
inflicted by captive Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus),
Baird’s tapir (Tapirs bairdii) and lowland tapirs have
been reported (Naish, 2013). In all cases, attacks were
perpetrated by females rearing calves.
In August 2011, a male mountain tapir calf was
rescued in Los Cedros, Quijos Alto, Antisana Ecological
Reserve, Ecuador. The animal, named Leo, was cared
for and raised in captivity on a farm (Gómez et al.,
2013). In December 2013, the tapir was released
approximately four km away from the farm in an area
of cloud forest. The tapir was fitted with a leather
collar to allow identification. In the months following
his release, Leo frequently returned to the farm where
he had been cared for, to feed on plants in the garden
before returning to the surrounding cloud forest.
Leo, now an adult animal of about 180 kg visited the
farm on February 27, 2015 and, attacked, one of his
original caretakers for no apparent reason. The man
was trampled and bitten, especially around the head
and hands. Only the timely intervention of park ranger
Leopoldo Gomez saved the victim’s life.
It is important to note that the region where Leo
was originally released is known to be an area of
high tapir/human conflict. The family that raised
Leo reported two previous attacks by wild mountain
tapirs on humans. The first occurred when three adult
tapirs, possibly in courtship, chased a person forcing
him to seek refuge on top of a large rock. The second
happened when an adult tapir attempted to bite a
lumberjack. Upon investigation, we learned Leo was
involved in two additional incidents prior to the near-
fatal event. On one occasion, Leo chased a neighboring
farmer who defended himself using a club. In the
other incident, he reportedly lunged towards the park
ranger that had rescued him as a calf, biting only his
backpack.
Given the seriousness of the case, members of
IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group/Ecuador and the
authorities of the Ministry of Environment of Ecuador
(MEE), decided to relocate Leo to a remote cloud
forest of Cayambe Coca National Park (CCNP), over
20 km away from region where Leo was raised in
captivity. The decision was taken to both safeguard
the life of the animal and the people of the community.
Unfortunately, this action was never carried out.
Following a series of additional incidents in late March
and early April this year in which Leo posed significant
threats to humans, the MEE Authorities, local farmers
and biologists decided that Leo should not be released
under any circumstances due to his extraordinarily
aggressive behavior towards humans. Consequently, he
euthanized on April 3, 2015 by an MEE veterinarian.
The reasons underlying Leo’s aggressive behavior
are unknown. One hypothesis is that there was a
Armando Castellanos 1,2 and Leopoldo Gomez 3
1IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group, Ecuador.
2Andean Bear Foundation,
3Reserva Ecológica Antisana, Napo, Ecuador
Pasaje S24B, Oe5-142, La Isla, Quito, Ecuador.
email:iznachi@gmail.com

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
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sexually active female in the region. Due to his very close
interactions with humans during early development, he
may have confused humans with potential competitors.
Perhaps he simply felt threatened and was defending
his territory. Another hypothesis is that Leo contracted
a disorder that has made him aggressive and intolerant
towards humans. Leo was rescued when only a few
weeks old at the bottom of a sheer rock face. It is likely
that he suffered an accident in which he fell down the
cliff, separating him from his mother, and forcing her to
abandon him. He was alone and starving upon rescue,
yet it is not known exactly how many days he was
without his mother (Gómez et al., 2013). It is possible
that Leo suffered a traumatic experience caused by
the impact of his fall or the starvation he endured at
such a crucial period in his development. This could
potentially have triggered him to develop a behavioural
disorder that has made him particularly vicious towards
humans. Such a disorder could also have been caused
by a traumatic experience during captivity or since
his release. Similar behavioral disruptions have been
observed in elephants (Bradshaw et al. 2003). Could
Leo have suffered post-release psychological trauma
after being rejected by his ‘human family’ on his return
‘home’ that provoked hyperaggressive behaviour?
Given the uncertainty surrounding what might
trigger aggressive behavior in tapirs, it is highly
recommended that people who come into contact
with tapirs either in captivity or in the wild, take
every precaution to avoid injury to both human
and tapir. Ultimately, this case highlights the lack
of knowledge on tapir behavior, and the impact
habitat loss, encroachment, and persecution have
on individual tapir behavior. Continued monitoring
of tapir behavior in areas of diverse
conflict is vital to help us understand
how tapir/human interactions might be
altering and affecting tapir behavior.
Acknowledgements
I
would like to thank to Anders Goncalves
da Silva and David Jackson for their
insightful and valuable comments.
References
Bradshaw, G.A., Schor, A. N., Brown, J.L.,
Poole, J H. and Moss, C J. 2005. Elephant
breakdown. Nature. Vol 433, at: http://www.
nature.com/nature/journal/v433/n7028/
full/433807a.html . Accessed May 12,
2015.
Castellanos, A 1994. El tapir andino
(Tapirus pinchaque Roulin): crianza de un
ejemplar en el bosque protector Pasochoa
y notas ecológicas en el Parque Nacional
Sangay, Ecuador. Tesis de licenciatura,
Facultad de Filosofía y Ciencias de la Educación,
Universidad Central, Quito, Ecuador.
Castellanos, A. 2013. Iridium/GPS Telemetry to Study Home
Range and population Density of Mountain Tapirs in
the Rio Papallacta Watershed, Ecuador. Tapir Specialist
Group Newsletter, 31(22):20-25.
Crandall, L. S. 1964. Family Tapiridae. Pp. 499–504 in
Management of wild animals in captivity. University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois.30–35.
Downer, C. C. 1996. The mountain tapir, endangered
‘‘flagship’’species of the high Andes. Oryx 30:45–58.
Gale, N. B., and C. J. Sedgwick. 1968. A note on the
woolly tapirs (Tapirus pinchaque) at Los Angeles Zoo.
International Zoo Yearbook 8:211–212.
Gómez, L., Urcuango, R., Romero, A., Urgiles-Verdugo, C.,
y Gallo, F. 2013. Manejo Semi-In situ de un ejemplar de
tapir de montaña (Tapirus pinchaque), en la localidad
de Cuyuja, Reserva Ecológica Antisana, Ecuador.
Primer Congreso Latinoamericano de Tapires- Segundo
Congreso Ecuatoriano de Mastozoología, pp 109. Puyo
Pastaza, Ecuador.
Haddad, V., Chagas Assunção, M., Coelho de Mello, R.
& Ribeiro Duarte, M. 2005. A fatal attack caused by
a Lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) in southeastern
Brazil. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine 16,
97-100
Naish, D. 2013. Tapir attacks past, present, but hopefully
not future. at: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/
tetrapod-zoology/2013/08/11/tapir-attacks-past-present-
not-future/. Accessed May 12, 2015.
Schauenberg, P. 1969. Contribution a` l’e´tude du tapir
pinchaque, Tapirus pinchaque Roulin 1829. Revue
Suisse de Zoologie 76:211–256.
Figure 1. ‘Leo’ homing in the Gómez family farm wearing his leather ID
collar. Photo by: Leopoldo Gómez

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Record and track description
of a Baird’s tapir juvenile in the
north of Oaxaca
The presence of Baird’s tapir Tapirus bairdii in
the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca in Southern Mexico
has been previously reported by Lira et al. (2006),
using track records and information obtained
through interviews. Seven years later, its presence
was confirmed with pictures (Lavariega et al., 2013),
bone remains, and tracks (Peña et al., in press).
Subsequently, after three surveys with camera traps
in the Sierra de Villa Alta (17°29’23”N 96°7’45.6”W;
1499 masl), additional pictures of adult animals
have been obtained (personal observation, Mario C.
Lavariega; Figure 1)
As part of the routine sampling activities established
for recording medium and large mammals through
the identification of tracks, well-marked Baird’s tapir
footprints and the tracks of a juvenile and an adult
were found on February 15, 2014 in a muddy area
bordering a stream in the mountain cloud forest in the
Sierra Madre de Oaxaca (17°29’23”N, 96°7’47”W; 1530
masl). The Baird’s tapir footprint has four toes, wide
hoofs with round edges and hind footprints similar to
the front, but with only three toes. In the tracks, back
and front feet line up one over the other, corresponding
with a walking or trot trail pattern (Aranda, 2000).
The condition of the substrate resulted in good quality
track impressions. The tracks were photographed
and plaster casts of three tracks were made and were
deposited in the Mammal Collection of the CIIDIR-
Oaxaca (OAX.MA.026.0497).
The juvenile Baird’s tapir footprint in the mud
was 13.5 cm long and 15.5 cm wide (Figure 2a) and
the adult’s was16.0 cm long and 18.0 cm wide (Figure
2b). The adult footprint size lies within the reported
footprint range: 15.24 cm to 20 cm long and 12.7
to 20 cm wide (Murie, 1997; Aranda, 2000; Pérez &
Matus, 2010). The juvenile’s track was composed of
five footprints: three of the right hind foot and two of
the left hind foot. The track measured 195 cm in length
and 31 to 39 cm in width and the distance between the
Luis David Camarillo-Chávez1, Mario C. Lavariega1
and Miguel Briones-Salas1
1Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el
Desarrollo Integral Regional, Unidad Oaxaca, Instituto
Politécnico Nacional. Hornos 1003, Santa Cruz
Xoxocotlán, Oaxaca, México 71230.
Figure 1. Photograph of Baird’s tapir taken with camera-
trap in the north of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Figure 2. Tracks of Baird´s tapir in the north of Oaxaca,
Mexico: a) juvenile and b) adult.

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juvenile and adult tracks was between 75 to 77 cm.
For the adult tapir, three footprints of the right hind
foot were found with a separation distance of 44 cm
(Figure 3).
This finding, in addition to previous records, allows
for the opportunity to further carry out research on the
habitat conditions, home range and breeding sites of
this species, which has been classified as endangered
(IUCN, 2014) due to the threats posed by hunting and
deforestation. The presence of a juvenile Baird´s tapir
represents strong evidence of reproduction of Baird´s
Tapir in the Sierra de Villa Alta, Oaxaca. This is
relevant and highlights the value of the mountain cloud
forest for the conservation of this species, because
it lies within the limit of the species distribution in
Mexico and for all the species. As Lira et al. (2006)
have also noted, it is necessary to develop further
studies in adjacent regions with areas of potential tapir
habitat (such as Ixtlan, Veinte Cerros, Sierra Mixe) in
order to promote conservation strategies in this region.
References
Aranda, M. 2000. Huellas y otros rastros de los mamíferos
grandes y medianos de México. CONABIO, Instituto de
Ecología A.C. Xalapa, México. 220 pp.
IUCN (2015). 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
www.redlist.org [accesed 18 February 2015].
Lavariega, M.C., Briones-Salas, M. & Rodríguez, C. (2013).
Registro de tapir centroamericano (Tapirus bairdii) con
cámaras-trampa en la sierra Madre de Oaxaca, México.
Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 84:1007-1011.
Lira, I., Naranjo, E.J., Hillard, D., Camacho, M.A., de Villa,
A. & Reyes, M.A. (2006). Status and conservation of
Baird´s Tapir in Oaxaca, Mexico. Tapir Conservation 15
(1):21-28.
Murie, O.J. & Elbroch, M. (2005). A field guide to animal
tracks. Houghton Mifflin Company. New York. 375 p.
Peña-Azcona, I., Gómez-Ugalde, R.M. & Briones-Salas, M.
In press. Nuevos registros de tapir centroamericano
Tapirus bairdii en el Distrito de Tehuantepec, Oaxaca,
México. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (nueva serie).
Pérez, C. & Matus, E. (2010). El tapir Tapirus bairdii en la
región sureste del Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna
Balam Ka’ax, Quintana Roo, México. Therya 1:137-144.
Figure 3. Track of Baird´s tapir in the north of Oaxaca, Mexico. Scheme based on photographs and field data.

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
15
CONTRIBUTIONS
Integrating current range-wide occurrence data
with species distribution models to map the
potential distribution of Baird’s Tapir
Cody Schank1,2, Eduardo Mendoza3, Manolo J. García Vettorazzi4,5, Michael V. Cove6, Christopher A. Jordan2,7, Georgina
O‘Farrill8, Ninon Meyer9,10, Diego J. Lizcano11, Nereyda Estrada12, Celso Poot13, and Raquel Leonardo14
1 Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712
2 Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX 78767
3 Instituto de Investigaciones sobre los Recursos Naturales (INIRENA), Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Av. San Juanito
Itzicuaro s/n, Col. Nueva Esperanza, Morelia C.P. 58337, Michoacán.
4 Tapir Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission, International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
5 Centro de Estudios Conservacionistas, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Farmacia, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala.
6 Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695
7 Panthera
8 Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
9 El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Campeche, Mexico
10 Yaguara-Panama, San Francisco, Panama
11 Departamento Central de Investigación, Universidad Laica Eloy Alfaro de Manabí, Manta, Ecuador
12 Fundación Panthera, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
13 The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center
14 Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza
Abstract
Identifying species distributions is fundamental
to understanding their ecology and guiding
conservation and management strategies. We
compiled 756 unique range-wide Baird’s tapir
(Tapirus bairdii) detections via camera trapping
of track/sign surveys in eight countries. We then
estimated the distribution of suitable tapir habitat
within a Maxent-modeling framework. Though
there are some clear areas of over- and under-
predicted habitat, the resultant models allowed us
to significantly update the potential distribution
map of Baird’s tapir. We estimate that 39.4% of the
available area is suitable for tapirs, but only 27.2%
of that habitat occurs in protected areas. We discuss
the areas that comprise suitable tapir habitat, and
identify global and local threats in each country.
Keywords: Climate, Distribution, Habitat Suitability,
Maxent, Model.
Data Availability: Data is shared under a creative
commons BY license. Data which are already pub-
lished or publicly available are listed in Table 1. Data
for Honduras is not yet publicly available (contact the
authors). The presence data used in these models can
be found at https://zenodo.org/record/18557.
Introduction
Species distribution patterns are dynamic traits
that reflect the species’ relationships with biotic
and abiotic variables, their evolutionary histories, and
their responses to disturbance (Elith & Leathwick
2009). Therefore, identification of such range-wide

CONTRIBUTIONS
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
16
patterns is fundamental to the understanding of
species ecology and to guide conservation initiatives,
assessments and management strategies. The analysis
of distribution patterns is particularly critical for
species subjected to pressure from human activities
(e.g., habitat loss, hunting pressure) that may limit
or reduce suitable habitat. Among all mammals,
tropical large-bodied herbivores include some of
the groups most threatened by human impact
(e.g., Perissodactyla: rhinoceros, wild horses and
tapirs; Baille et al. 2010). Yet, in comparison
with large predators (e.g., felids) large herbivores
usually draw less attention in terms of the urgency
of their conservation despite the fact that the
loss of large-bodied herbivore mammals causes
a significant impoverishment of local mammal
communities, and can lead to the disappearance of
entire evolutionary lineages (e.g., Perissodactyla).
Furthermore, extirpation of populations of large-
bodied herbivores, or even their marked decrease,
can cause the interruption of the variate ecological
roles these fauna play in their natural habitats
(Dirzo et al. 2014; Ripple et al. 2015). The activities
of large-bodied herbivores indirectly and directly
affect the occurrence and abundance of coexisting
species in their natural ecosystems. For example,
by continuously browsing, trampling, defecating
and urinating, large-bodied herbivores generate
habitat heterogeneity that provides the opportunity
for some species to establish (Ripple et al. 2015).
Likewise, it has been shown that the experimental
removal (mimicking defaunation) of large-bodied
herbivores (tapirs included) from the tropical rain
forest understory significantly affects seedling
survival and recruitment patterns, resulting in
increased seedling density, but decreased seedling
diversity (Camargo-Sanabria et al. 2015).
The Baird’s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) was originally
distributed almost continuously from southern
Mexico to northern Colombia and Ecuador (Alston,
1882; Matola et al., 1997). However, due to the
compounding impacts of habitat alteration and
hunting, the original distribution has been reduced
by >50% and fragmented over the past three
decades (Castellanos et al., 2008). The endangered
status of Baird’s tapirs, among other threatened
large mammals such as jaguars (Panthera onca)
and white-lipped peccaries (Tayassu pecari), has
stimulated the establishment of the Mesoamerican
Biological Corridor to enhance and ensure suitable
habitat for connecting populations among spatially
discrete protected areas (Miller et al., 2001). The
endangered status of Baird’s tapirs has also sparked
many recent surveys and demographic studies in
multiple countries across the entire range within
and outside of protected areas (Gonzalez-Maya et
al., 2012; Jordan & Urquhart, 2013; Mendoza et
al., 2013; Meyer et al., 2013; Cove et al., 2014).
Figure 1: IUCN range map of Baird’s Tapir. Locations of
presence data used in the SDM, and study area extent are
also included on this map.
Figure 2: Maxent logistic output (values range from 0 to 1).
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Presence Points
Protected Areas
0
0 - 0.08
0.08 - 0.15
0.15 - 0.23
0.23 - 0.31
0.31 - 0.38
0.38 - 0.46
0.46 - 0.54
0.54 - 0.62
0.62 - 0.69
0.69 - 0.77
0.77 - 0.85
0.85 - 0.92
0.92 - 1
0 360 720180
Km
¯
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IUCN Range Map
Extant
Probably Ex tant
Extinct
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Presence Points
Country Boundaries
Study Area
0 400 800200
Km
¯
Surveys using new technologies such as camera traps
have advanced our current understanding of local
tapir distribution and even led to the rediscovery
of populations previously believed to be extinct, for
example, along the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua

CONTRIBUTIONS
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
17
(Jordan & Urquhart, 2013).
Yet, these new important
datasets have not been
compiled and analyzed on
a range-wide scale, meaning
that many of the previous
distribution maps are either
outdated or limited to only a
portion of the original extent
(e.g. regionally restricted,
Mendoza et al., 2013). Here,
we compiled data across all of
the Mesoamerican countries
(except El Salvador, where
the species is reported as
extinct) to estimate the
current distribution of T.
bairdii using the most recent
range-wide occurrence data within a
species distribution modeling framework.
Materials and Methods
The emergence of modeling algorithms
based on occurrence data have
greatly improved our ability to describe
distribution patterns of tropical species,
for which accurate information on its
presence (i.e., georeferenced records) can
often be particularly limited (Cayuela et
al. 2009). These modeling approaches
use geo-referenced presence data and
GIS layers describing spatial variation
in environmental variables (usually climatic) to
identify the corresponding space in which the
probability of species occurrence is heightened.
Freely available software, such as Maxent, are used
in these modeling procedures and achieve high
predictive accuracy in creating maps of suitable
habitat (Phillips & Dudik, 2008).
Our study area consists of a rectangular grid
covering the entirety of the known distribution of
Baird’s tapir (101° to 74° W and 1° S to 22° N, at a
resolution of 1 km2; ; Figure 1). The presence data
used in this modeling exercise were compiled by
IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group (TSG) Country
Coordinators and additional collaborators and
sources (Table 1). The data set includes a total of
756 unique locations of tapir detections (camera
trap and track/sign) across all range countries.
Most observations cover the years 2000 to present,
though there are a handful of records from the
1990s. We modeled the distribution of Baird’s
tapir with Maxent (Phillips & Dudik, 2008) using
10 climatic variables and elevation (Hijmans et
al., 2005; Table 2) as predictor layers in the SDM
(following Mendoza et al., 2013). The predictor
Table 1: Presence data contribution by source and country.
Table 2: Environmental predictor variables used in the SDM.
Figure 3: Threshold applied to Maxent output to produce a
binary presence-absence map.
Variable Code Variable Description
ALT Elevation
BIO1 Annual Mean Temperature
BIO4 Temperature Seasonality (standard deviation *100)
BIO5 Max Temperature of Warmest Month
BIO6 Min Temperature of Coldest Month
BIO12 Annual Precipitation
BIO15 Precipitation Seasonality (Coefficient of Variation)
BIO16 Precipitation of Wettest Quarter
BIO17 Precipitation of Driest Quarter
BIO18 Precipitation of Warmest Quarter
BIO19 Precipitation of Coldest Quarter
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Presence Points
Protected Areas
Not suitable
Suitable
0 360 720180
Km
¯
Source # of presences Geographic coverage
Garcia et al. (2009) 170 Guatemala
Chris Jordan 167 Nicaragua
Mendoza et al. (2013) 129 Mexico
National Action Plan for Tapirs in Honduras 125 Honduras
TEAM 47 Costa Rica
Ninon Meyer 32 Panama
Georgina O’Farrill 29 Mexico
Celso Poot 28 Belize
Cove et al. (2014) 11 Costa Rica
Jan Schipper/José F. González-Maya 7 Costa Rica
Cody Schank 7 Nicaragua
Diego Lizcano 4 Colombia
Total = 756

CONTRIBUTIONS
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
18
layers were masked so that islands were excluded
from the analysis. We used a bias grid (Elith et al.,
2010; Clements et al., 2012) to control for the effect of
sampling bias in our presence data. We also selected
the response curves and jackknife options to examine
the effect of individual predictors (Supplement). All
other Maxent settings were left at their defaults
(including output = logistic). We then used a forest
cover layer (Hansen et al., 2013) to mask out all cells
with less than 50% forest cover (Figure 2). Finally, we
created a binary map (presence/absence) using model
prevalence as a threshold (Liu et al., 2005) (Figure 3;
Supplement - detailed maps).
Results and Discussion
The resulting model estimated an area under the
curve (AUC) of 0.881, predicting suitable habitat
for Baird’s tapir within all range countries with a
discontinuous distribution that includes: the Sierra
Madre and Pacific coast of Mexico; the volcanic chain in
the Pacific slope of Mexico and Guatemala; the Yucatán
Peninsula in Mexico, Guatemala and Belize; Atlantic
coasts of Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua; and
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Costa Rica, Panama
and Colombia. Main habitat strongholds include forest
remnants in the Sierra Sur of Mexico; the Selva Maya
region in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; the Moskitia
region in Honduras and Nicaragua; Atlantic coasts of
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama; the Darien region
in Panama and Colombia; and areas in the Pacific coast
region of Ecuador..
The resulting binary map predicts 39.4% of the
land surface in the study area as suitable habitat
for tapirs (Table 3). However, the actual distribution
of the species is much smaller, partly because the
above estimate includes portions of the study area
which fall outside of the known distributional limits
of the species (especially true for Colombia and
Ecuador - see Discussion). In addition, a relatively
low threshold was chosen for the binary map, which
could overestimate the amount of suitable habitat,
however, this habitat suitability map could be further
refined using expert knowledge. Furthermore, some
of the habitat fragments classified as suitable are
substantially smaller than commonly cited estimates of
Baird’s tapir home range (i.e., 2.32 square km in Costa
Rica; Foerster 1998) or farther from larger connected
forests or protected areas than expected tapir dispersal
distances (i.e., 1.5 km for T. terrestris in Brazil; Medici
2010) questioning the ecological value of these patches
for the species survival. Therefore, many suitable
patches in our model results are likely too small and/
or too far from larger contiguous forest (e.g., protected
areas) to sustain a viable population of tapirs over
the long-term. More accessible, fragmented areas
classified as suitable may also be less likely to harbor
tapir populations due to high hunting rates (Peres
2001). Taking the above factors into consideration, the
suitability map produced here can be further refined
to represent the true distribution of the species by
explicitly integrating expert opinion regarding viable
populations, tapir movement ecology, and local on-the-
ground knowledge.
Across the study area, only 27.2% of suitable habitat
occurs in protected areas (Table 3). However, the
“protected” status of these areas does not necessarily
indicate that they serve as a refugia for tapirs. Protected
areas are all managed differently depending on the
country, their protection, or legal status (e.g., national
park, forest reserve, indigenous lands, etc.), the local
municipality where they are located, and the state of
national policies and funding for reserve staff and
guards (Hockings, 2003). Nicaragua, for example, has
the highest proportion of tapir habitat under protection
(55.2%), however the country has recently experienced
extensive habitat destruction within protected area
boundaries (Watsa, 2014). Hunting is also perceived
to be a problem in some notable protected areas
(e.g., La Amistad Bi-national Park in Costa Rica and
Panama -- Castellanos et al., 2008), yet there remains
Country
Total Area (km2)
Suitable Area (km2) Suitable Area (%) Suitable Protected (km2) Suitable Protected (%) Contribution (w/o Colombia)
Belize 21,591.68 15,928.29 73.77% 7,092.60 44.53% 3.37%
Colombia* 440,973.30 136,687.85 31.00% 24,253.81 17.74%
Costa Rica 51,071.16 33,924.31 66.43% 11,895.11 35.06% 7.18%
El Salvador** 20,352.49 2,516.86 12.37% 458.05 18.20% 0.53%
Guatemala 109,151.03 57,070.46 52.29% 24,212.39 42.43% 12.09%
Honduras 111,916.88 60,624.57 54.17% 17,402.60 28.71% 12.84%
Mexico* 588,054.49 200,442.46 34.09% 32,156.10 16.04% 42.45%
Nicaragua 128,124.62 53,096.82 41.44% 29,289.86 55.16% 11.24%
Panama 73,645.89 48,632.14 66.04% 18,659.18 38.37% 10.30%
Total 1,544,881.55 608,923.75 39.42% 165,419.71 27.17%
Total (w/o Colombia) 472,235.90
*study area does not include all of country
**tapir are considered extinct in El Salvador
Table 3: Suitable habitat for Baird’s tapir by country, as predicted by the SDM. The second to last column is the percent
of suitable habitat in each country that is protected, determined using data downloaded from protectedplanet.net
(IUCN & UNEP-WCMC 2014). The last column shows the percent of suitable habitat contributed by each country
across the study area, excluding Colombia because of its large area and probably small contribution to actual tapir
habitat.

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19
very limited tapir hunting in some unprotected areas
where ecotourism and conservation education have
succeeded in transforming local communities’ views on
tapirs, particularly in Costa Rica (Cove et al., 2014).
Variables with the greatest percentage contribution
to the model were temperature seasonality (33.9%),
precipitation seasonality (31.5%), precipitation of the
driest quarter (9.7%) and maximum temperature of
the warmest month (9.1%), explaining about of 84% of
the potential distribution. The response plots suggest
that tapirs prefer habitats with both low temperature
and precipitation seasonality, and intermediate range
of maximum temperature in the warmest month
(not too hot, neither too cold). The association of
tapir’s preferred habitat and low seasonal variation
in temperature and precipitation suggests tapir
populations could suffer high impact given current
climate change scenarios for the region. Some of the
most critical regions are those with low precipitation
during the driest quarter such as the Selva Maya,
where climate change may become a relevant threat to
wild populations (Anderson et al., 2008; García et al.,
2012). However, tapirs do occur in some tropical dry
forests (see below in Costa Rica section), and studying
these populations has the potential to contribute to our
understanding of how tapirs mitigate and adapt to dry
climates, and thus help in making tapir populations
more resilient to the predicted impacts of climate
change.
Below, we discuss the individual countries and
their contributions to habitat for the Baird’s tapir.
Mexico
The suitable tapir habitat identified by this study
is mostly in agreement with the suitable habitat
described by Mendoza et al. (2013) for the Mexican
portion of the Mesoamerican biological corridor and
its vicinity. Recent fieldwork conducted by Botello et
al. (2014) and Naranjo et al. (2015) confirmed the
presence of Baird’s tapir in the areas identified by
Mendoza et al. (2013), which are also included in
this model. Modeled suitable habitat is predominantly
located in areas where potential vegetation, according
to Rzedowski (1998), are: tropical rainforest, semi-
evergreen tropical rainforest, montane forest, pine and
oak forest. To a lesser extent, suitable tapir habitat
is located in areas of deciduous tropical forest and
wetland. Scarce coincidence of potential tapir habitat
with tropical dry forest areas contrasts with observed
presence of Baird’s tapir in that type of forest in more
southern countries (e.g., Costa Rica). This situation
might be related to lower annual precipitation in the
dry forests of Mexico, which can reduce abundance of
food resources and cause physiological stress.
It is evident that there are some areas for which
this study predicts suitable habitat where tapirs
certainly do not occur, most strikingly central Mexico.
This overprediction results from: (1) including areas
for which no historic or contemporary records of
tapirs exist to support the species’ presence (e.g.,
western limit of the state of Guerrero and northern
limit of Veracruz, Puebla and Hidalgo); and (2) from
including areas where tapir originally occurred but
are now thought to be locally extinct due to human
impact (e.g., Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz). In the first case,
overprediction seems to be related to the occurrence of
montane forest and pine-oak forest, which is somewhat
similar to the forest where the species occurs in more
southern locations. Yet, overall, model predictions are
in agreement with regional studies indicating that main
tapir strongholds occur in the states of Chiapas, Oaxaca,
Campeche and Quintana Roo (Naranjo 2009). Despite
the likelihood of overprediction, evidence indicates that
Mexico supports ~20% of the remaining Baird’s tapirs,
making the country critical for the long-term survival of
the species. A large portion of predicted suitable tapir
habitat is within protected area boundaries (~16%,
Table 3). However, deforestation in southern Mexico
(Mendoza et al., 2013) and the decrease in availability
of water resources due to climate change (O’Farrill et
al., 2014) are likely to isolate main tapir strongholds
by reducing habitat connectivity.
Belize
Locally known as mountain cow in Belize, T. bairdii
is the country‘s national animal. With more than
60% forest cover (Cherringtion et al., 2010), and a
wide network of terrestrial protected areas, tapirs are
known to occur in all six districts of Belize. Our model
suggests that ~74% of Belize‘s territory is suitable
tapir habitat, including areas in all six districts. These
findings support earlier work by Waters and Ulloa
(2007) that documented the species‘ presence widely
throughout the country, including outside protected
areas. The two largest blocks of contiguous suitable
habitat for tapirs are the Rio Bravo Conservation
and Management Area in northwestern Belize, which
is contiguous to the tri-national Maya Forest; and
the Chiquibul/Maya Mountain Massif in southwestern
Belize. The model also shows that the Central Belize
Corridor, comprised primarily of privately owned
unprotected lands, likely provides connectivity between
these two larger tracts of forest, highlighting the
importance of encouraging conservation on private
property in Belize.
Urban expansion is the greatest threat to tapirs
in Central Belize (Belize District). Central Belize is
comprised primarily of lowland savanna, wetlands,
and lowland broadleaf forests. Our model highlights
this area as unsuitable habitat for the species; however
work by Poot (2014) documented high incidence of
tapir vehicle collisions in this human dominated
landscape. Current monitoring efforts confirm regular
presence of the species throughout this particular

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
20
region, including wetlands and mangrove habitat (Poot
unpublished). Conversion of large tracts of forest for
sugar and grain production over the past three years
in western Belize (Cayo District) will undoubtedly put
additional pressures on the species’ available habitat.
Future conservation action should include ground-
truthing the species presence at the national level,
both inside and outside of protected areas, which
will assist in future management decisions and policy
by providing quantitative empirical data to inform
decisions.
Guatemala
The results from this model are consistent with
information presented by García et al. (2011),
who indicated that the most extensive, continuous
tract of suitable habitat for tapirs in Guatemala is the
northeastern region of the country, primarily within
the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the tri-national Maya
Forest. The Sierra del Lacandón National Park (the area
of connectivity with Mexico) and Sierra de las Minas
Biosphere Reserve (the last primary cloud forest area)
are two additional important regions for tapirs, given
the high percentage of suitable habitat. In the central
and eastern region there are numerous small patches of
suitable habitat where the species still occurs; despite
being isolated remnants, the importance of the genetic
variability of those populations must be considered
in future action planning. Although the model shows
suitable habitat in the Pacific lowlands, the species is
considered to be locally extinct (Saunders et al., 1950).
Our results reveal suitable habitat for some sites
where the species occurred in the 1900s, including
the volcanic chain in the Pacific region; however forest
fragmentation and reduction, and hunting have almost
certainly resulted in the extirpation of the species from
these regions.
Honduras
Our model shows that suitable habitat for Baird’s
tapirs in Honduras is located in lowland tropical
forest in the east of the country (mainly the Honduran
Moskitia), and cloud forest along the Atlantic coast.
Both pine forest and dry forest habitats appear
as areas of low suitability. We are unaware of any
tapir report from pine forest in Honduras; and the
most recent anecdotal records of tapirs in dry forest
date back to the 1960’s. Unsuitable habitat includes
agricultural and urban areas. To a lesser extent the
model also indicates suitable habitat in southwestern
Honduras, although the occurrence and status of tapir
populations in this region is unknown.
Pristine cloud forest remains in southwestern
Honduras, but these areas have been historically
surrounded by pine forest or pine-oak forest assumed
to be poor habitat for tapirs; different from the cloud
forest in the Atlantic which transitions into lowland
broadleaf tropical forest (Anderson & Bonta, 2002).
Nonetheless, few surveys have been carried out in
southwestern Honduras cloud forests, thus our model
points to this part of the country as an important area
to search for tapirs in the future.
The tract of forest shared between eastern Honduras
and northern Nicaragua is the second largest area of
continuous tapir habitat in the study area. However,
this trans-frontier biosphere reserve is being rapidly
deforested for pasture lands. The model indicates
continuous suitable tapir habitat from the Panama
Canal to central Honduras where the Aguan Valley,
dominated by agricultural landscape, rises as a barrier;
this barrier continues to the south across pine forest,
pine-oak forest and human dominated landscapes.
Previous work estimated that 38.5% of all forest in
Honduras is inside protected areas (ICF-GIZ, 2014),
nonetheless the model shows that only 28.71% of
the tapir’s suitable habitat is under some protection
category. The creation of protected areas has not aligned
well with the critical areas for Baird’s tapir conservation;
a program for tapir and wildlife conservation at a large
scale is needed to ensure the conservation of large
mammals in Honduras. Among the main threats to
tapirs are habitat loss due to the conversion of lowland
tropical forest to oil palm plantations in northern and
eastern Honduras, and the conversion of cloud forest
to coffee farms along the Atlantic mountain ranges.
Poaching is also an important threat in the cloud
forest of middle Honduras, where these isolated forest
remnants are surrounded by high density human
settlements (McCann et al., 2012). However, for tapir
that occur on indigenous lands, hunting levels are
usually relatively sustainable (Dunn et al., 2012;
Estrada 2004).
Nicaragua
Our results suggest that there are two areas of suitable
habitat that likely serve as strongholds for tapirs
in the Caribbean Region of Nicaragua: the Bosawás
Biosphere Reserve and the Indio-Maíz Biosphere
Reserve. Results also indicate that the remainder of
the Caribbean Coast may function as an important
corridor of suitable habitat between the Baird’s tapir
populations in these two strongholds. However, in the
past ten years, increasing rates of deforestation both
inside and outside of protected areas, the expansion of
oil palm plantations and large development projects,
widespread unsustainable poaching, and poor to no
environmental law enforcement in the Caribbean Coast
have probably eliminated connectivity between tapir
populations in the far north of the country and those
in the far south (Jordan et al., 2014).
Uncontrolled hunting and deforestation along a
cattle ranching frontier that is quickly advancing from
west to east across the Caribbean Coast threaten the

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
21
survival of Nicaragua’s tapirs over the long-term (Jordan
et al., 2014). Due to these same phenomena, much of
the suitable habitat west of our detection data in the
Caribbean region, perhaps with the exception of the
regions to the far north, are unlikely to harbor tapirs.
Indeed, most remaining forests far from the Caribbean
Coast are typically hunted unsustainably and isolated
within cattle ranches (C. Jordan, unpublished). Other
regions, such as volcanic islands in Lake Nicaragua,
appear as suitable habitat in our maps but do not harbor
tapirs. Despite the overprediction of tapir distribution
and the increasing threats to Nicaraguan tapirs, the
country remains a significant link in the Baird’s tapir’s
global range, especially given the apparent corridor of
suitable habitat connecting Honduras and Costa Rica
and the large portion of the remaining suitable habitat
that enjoys nationally protected status (55.16%).
Our modeling results corroborate the conclusion of
Jordan and Urquhart (2013) concerning the greater
importance of the Caribbean Region of Nicaragua
compared with the Pacific Region, which differs from
some prior Baird’s tapir range maps (i.e., Figure 1).
Costa Rica
Costa Rica is well known for its reliance on
ecotourism as a primary driver in the national
economy (Fennel and Eagles, 1990). With nearly 25%
of the country protected as national parks, forest
reserves, and wildlife refuges, Costa Rica has among
some of the highest proportions of the total land
mass in protected habitat. However, of the 66% of the
country classified as suitable, our models suggest that
only 35% of that potential tapir habitat is located in
protected areas. Costa Rica’s government incentives
for landowners to reforest fallow lands has led to an
increase in forest cover in some areas with secondary
forest and tree plantations (Morse et al., 2009).
These private lands can function as suitable corridors
between protected areas and many of these areas are
represented in our models of suitable habitat. Cove et
al. (2014) observed tapirs utilizing secondary forest
and even exotic tree plantations in the northern zone of
Costa Rica, further suggesting tapirs might be resilient
to colonize new forest patches if there is enough forage
and cover available in the biological corridors between
them.
Although the model accurately predicts most of
the tapir habitat in Costa Rica, there are several
areas that are likely overpredicted and some that are
underpredicted which require further examination. For
example, Santa Rosa National Park in northwestern
Costa Rica is an area that was not identified as
suitable habitat, yet the adjacent Guanacaste National
Park was identified as suitable tapir habitat within
our predicted distribution map. Tapirs occur in both
of these national parks (Janzen, 1982; Wainwright,
2007). This exemplifies a case of underprediction
due to climatic data because Santa Rosa is largely dry
forest. Similarly, Wainwright (2007) suggested that
tapirs occur in Palo Verde National Park which was
also identified as non-habitat in our models due to the
dry climate of that park. Underprediction of tropical
dry forests as suitable habitat is most likely an artifact
of sampling biases with a lack of data points from these
regions. This issue might extend beyond the dry forests
of Costa Rica and warrants further study of tapir
occurrence and ecology in drier climates to further
update the model. Areas of suitable habitat on the
Nicoya peninsula are likely not occupied by tapir, since
they have been extirpated from protected areas such
as Cabo Blanco (Timm et al., 2009) and Wainwright
(2007) suggested no tapir occurrence on the entire
peninsula. Additionally, there are some areas extending
along the Caribbean coast between Limon and Cahuita
National Park that have undergone recent development
and expansion of plantations that likely represent
areas where tapir are no longer present. These areas
might, however, warrant further survey to validate our
model predictions.
The agricultural expansion of pineapple production
has increased dramatically over the past decade,
particularly in northeastern Costa Rica, and this
land clearing practice is likely the largest threat to
available tapir habitat in the country (Cove et al.,
2013). Whereas, exotic tree plantations provide cover,
pineapple fields prevent movement by tapirs as they
function as effective barriers to tapir dispersal in the
absence of biological corridors (Gonçalves da Silva
2007; Medici 2010). The increasing economic growth
of pineapple production might further increase the
infrastructure of these areas, and could potentially lead
to more paved roads and multi-lane highways, which
have been identified as threats to tapir conservation
in other countries (Castellanos et al., 2008). Although
there is significant habitat in Costa Rica and hunting
pressure is relatively limited, the potential expansion of
pineapple plantations, urbanization, and roads could
play a role in reducing suitable habitat and increasing
the likelihood of human-tapir conflict.
Panama
Panama is particularly important for Baird’s tapirs
because it constitutes the only link between tapirs
in Colombia and those in Central America. Most of
the suitable habitat predicted in Panama is along
the Atlantic coast, especially farther east where large
protected areas are connected by the primary forests
of the indigenous territories Embera and Guna. The
model overpredicts tapir distribution nationally,
especially in the pacific side of the country, which
has experienced widespread deforestation. With the
exception of the Darién National Park, the few large

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patches of forest remaining in the Pacific region host
endangered species such as the jaguar (Moreno et
al. in press) and could potentially harbor tapirs, but
no evidence of tapir occurrence has been reported
for decades (Meyer et al. 2013). Even though some
of these forests are protected, they are too far from
contiguous forests that do support tapir populations
to allow their recolonization by the species. Another
overprediction of tapir distribution occurs in Central
Panama. Outside of Barro Colorado Island, there is
probably no resident population of tapirs in the area
(Meyer et al. in press). Central Panama is heavily
fragmented, and although illegal, hunting pressure is
high throughout the area including in the numerous
protected areas of the Canal watershed that are easily
accessible (Wright et al. 2000). The rapid economic
development that Panama is currently experiencing
leads to habitat loss and fragmentation (Heckadon-
Moreno 1993) and combined with hunting (killing
events are regularly reported), these factors threaten
the long term viability of tapir populations in Central
Panama. Only 38% of predicted suitable habitat for
tapirs is protected, thus conservation strategies should
focus on maintaining forests with no protected status
between the large protected areas along the Atlantic
Coast in order to enable connectivity and ensure the
long term persistence of tapirs along the Isthmus of
Panama.
Colombia/Ecuador
The model predicts suitable tapir habitat in Colombia
across a wide range of climates, including the
extremely wet Chocó region, where Baird’s tapir was
recorded recently by several researchers in Los Katios
National Park (Mejia-Correa et al. 2014), and also
the dry forests and savannas of the upper Sinu
River (Caribbean region), where Philip Hershkovitz
registered the species in the first half of the 20th
century, sympatric to Tapirus terrestris colombianus
(Hershkovitz 1954). Despite the model predicting
suitable habitat there, Baird’s tapirs have not been
recently recorded in the upper Sinu river (Solari et
al. 2013), while explorations have recorded Tapirus
terrestris colombianus in the municipalities of Segovia
and Remedios in Antioquia (Arias Alzate et al. 2009).
It is interesting that no suitable tapir habitat was
predicted by the model in the Bahia Solano region,
were Baird’s tapir was reported as locally extinct in the
second half of 20th century due to overhunting (Ulloa
et al. 2004), even though substantial forest cover still
remains.
The southernmost record of Baird’s tapir in
Colombia is from Departamento de Nariño on the
Pacific slopes of the Andes in southern Colombia,
where Baird’s tapirs were reported as declining in the
1980s due to overhunting (Orejuela 1992). However
no records have been recently obtained in southern
Colombia. Interestingly, habitat predicted as suitable
by our model in Ecuador coincides with the region
north of Guayaquil where Hershkovitz (1954) reported
an individual of Baird’s tapir (though the exact locality
is unknown). Baird’s tapirs are depicted in the red
book of mammals of Ecuador, however it is included
as almost extinct (Tirira 2001). There have been no
records of Baird’s tapirs in Ecuador in the last 50
years despite survey efforts (Urgilés-Verdugo et al.
2013).
Conclusion
This study represents a clear improvement of our
knowledge on the global distribution of Baird’s tapir
habitat, particularly when it is compared with previous
maps (such as that used in the IUCN Red List - Figure
1). Use of climatic and forest layers produced a more
sensitive description of potential tapir distribution,
which is particularly clear in its northernmost limit in
Mexico. Thus, this study provides a more realistic and
updated description of current Baird’s tapir habitat
distribution that can be used as a baseline for more
comprehensive and refined analyses in the future.
The present study resulted from a collaborative
effort involving researchers from several countries
(including all of the countries in which Baird’s tapir
is present) and with many different fields of expertise.
Our collaboration yielded not just a unified database
of tapir presence data and tapir distribution maps,
but also allowed us to compile detailed information
on current threats in each of the participating range
countries. The main threat is habitat loss due to land
use change for agriculture, pastures, and infrastructure,
causing habitat connectivity loss and isolation of tapir
populations. Additionally, poaching and collisions with
vehicles are another relevant threat in most range
countries. The formal continuation of this partnership
between global tapir researchers will ensure that
we can efficiently produce the maps and supporting
documents needed to design and implement the
actions that will be necessary in coming years to
ensure the survival of Baird’s tapir populations and the
conservation of their habitat.
Acknowledgments
This was a collaborative exercise among the members
of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group and other
collaborators from across Mexico and Central America.
We are grateful to all of the researchers that shared their
data to help proceed with this endeavor with the most
up to date occurrence information. In particular we
thank the following groups from each country: In Costa
Rica: Jan Schipper, José F. González-Maya, Manuel
Spinola, Lain Pardo and Joel Saenz from Universidad
Nacional de Costa Rica; The TEAM Network; Panthera-

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
23
Costa Rica; staff of Selva Verde Lodge, Laguna del
Lagarto Lodge, Cinco Ceibas Rainforest Reserve, and
Maquenque Eco-Lodge. In Nicaragua: The Nicaraguan
National Zoo, Michigan State University, the Mohammed
bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the National
Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
Program, and the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group
Conservation Fund. In Panama: Ministerio de Ambiente,
GEMAS/Fondo Darién, MPSA, MWH, R. Moreno,
and J.Giacalone. In Guatemala: Centro de Estudios
Conservacionistas from San Carlos de Guatemala
University, Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas,
Fondo Nacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza,
Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, and the
IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group Conservation Fund.
In Belize: Ya’axche Conservation Trust, Program for
Tropical Ecology and Conservation Science/University
of Florida, Birds Without Borders-Aves Sin Fronteras,
and the Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center. In
Mexico: CONACyT, The Scott Neotropical Fund from
the Cleveland Metropark Zoo, UC-Mexus and all the
people that kindly agreed to share tapir presence data
listed in Mendoza et al. 2013.
The workshop carried out to run the first
model for Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua was
possible thanks to the kind support from the Forestry
Conservation Institute (ICF), The Ecosistema and the
Moskitia UNDP-GEF Projects.
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TSG MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
26
Currently, the TSG has 122 members, including
field researchers, educators, veterinarians,
governmental agencies and NGO representatives,
zoo personnel, university professors and students,
from 28 different countries worldwide (Argentina,
Australia, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia,
Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, France, French
Guiana, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Republic of
Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, The Netherlands,
United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela).
AMANZO, JESSICA
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Peru
AMORIM MORAES JR., EDSEL
Instituto Biotrópicos
Brazil
AÑEZ GALBAN, LUIS
Fundación Parque Zoológico Metropolitano del Zulia
Venezuela
ANGELL, GILIA
Amazon.com
United States
ARIAS ALZATE, ANDRÉS
Grupo de Mastozoología - CTUA, Universidad de
Antioquia
Colombia
AYALA C., GUIDO
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) - Bolivia
Bolivia
BARONGI, RICK
Houston Zoo Inc. / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
BECK, HARALD
Towson University
United States
BERMUDEZ LARRAZABAL, LIZETTE
Parque Zoologico Recreacional Huachipa
Peru
BERNAL RINCÓN, AGUEDA LUZ
Zoológico Centro Vacacional CAFAM - MELGAR
Colombia
BODMER, RICHARD
University of Kent
United Kingdom
BOSHOFF, LAUTJIE
Rafiki Safari Lodge
Costa Rica
BUMPUS, RENEE
Houston Zoo Inc.
United States
CALMÉ, SOPHIE
Université de Sherbrooke, Canada / El Colegio de la
Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Mexico
Canada
CALVO DOMINGO, JOSÉ JOAQUÍN
Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación,
Ministerio del Ambiente, Energía y
Telecomunicaciones
Costa Rica
CAMACHO, JAIME
EcoCiencia - Fundación Zoológica del Ecuador
Ecuador
CAMPOS ARCEIZ, AHIMSA
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Jalan
Broga
Malaysia
CARTES, JOSÉ
Asociación Guyra Paraguay
Paraguay
CASTELLANOS PEÑAFIEL, ARMANDO XAVIER
Fundación Espíritu del Bosque
Ecuador
CASTILLO, FERNANDO
Guatemala
TSG MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY

TSG MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
27
CHALUKIAN, SILVIA C.
Consultant
Argentina
COLBERT, MATTHEW
University of Texas at Austin
United States
CORDEIRO, JOSÉ LUIS
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz), Ministério da
Saúde
Brazil
CRUZ ALDÁN, EPIGMENIO
Instituto de Historia Natural / Zoologico Regional
Miguel Alvarez Del Toro
Mexico
CUARÓN, ALFREDO D.
SACBÉ - Servicios Ambientales, Conservación
Biológica y Educación
Mexico
de THOISY, BENOIT
Association Kwata
French Guiana
DEE, MICHAEL
United States
DESMOULINS, AUDE
ZooParc de Beauval / EAZA Tapir TAG
France
DINATA, YOAN
Fauna & Flora International - Indonesia Program
Indonesia
DOWNER, CRAIG
Andean Tapir Fund
United States
ESTRADA ANDINO, NEREYDA
Panthera Foundation
Honduras
FINNEGAN, MITCH
Oregon Zoo
United States
FLESHER, KEVIN
Michelin Brasil
Brazil
FLOCKEN, JEFFREY
International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW)
United States
FLÓREZ, FRANZ KASTON
Fundación Nativa & Nativa France
Colombia
FRAGOSO, JOSÉ MANUEL VIEIRA
Stanford University
United States
GALEANO, MIGUEL
Fundación para la Autonomía y el Desarrollo de la
Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua, FADCANIC
Nicaragua
GARCÍA VETTORAZZI, MANOLO JOSÉ
Centro de Estudios Conservacionistas / Universidad
de San Carlos de Guatemala
Guatemala
GARELLE, DELLA
Cheyenne Mountain Zoological Park
United States
GASPARINI, GERMÁN
División Paleontología Vertebrados, Museo de La
Plata, CONICET
Argentina
GATTI, ANDRESSA
Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo (UFES) /
Instituto Marcos Daniel (IMD)
Brazil
GLATSTON, ANGELA
Rotterdam Zoo / EAZA Tapir TAG
The Netherlands
GOFF, DON
Beardsley Zoological Gardens / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
GONÇALVES DA SILVA, ANDERS
Monash University
Australia
GREENE, LEWIS
Columbus Zoo / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
GÜIRIS ANDRADE, DARIO MARCELINO
UN.A.CH. / Policlinica y Diagnóstico Veterinario
Mexico

TSG MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
28
HERNANDEZ, SONIA
University of Georgia
United States
HOLDEN, JEREMY
Flora and Fauna International - Indonesia
Indonesia
HOLST, BENGT
Copenhagen Zoo / EAZA Tapir TAG
Denmark
HOYER, MARK
Artis Royal Zoo
The Netherlands
ISASI-CATALÁ, EMILIANA
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Venezuela
JANSSEN, DONALD
San Diego Wild Animal Park
United States
JORDAN, CHRISTOPHER
Michigan State University
United States
JULIÁ, JUAN PABLO
Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional
de Tucumán
Argentina
LAGUNA, ANDRES
Andean Bear Foundation
Ecuador
LEONARDO, RAQUEL
Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza
Guatemala
LIRA TORRES, IVÁN
Instituto de Ciencias Agropecuarias - UAEH
Mexico
LIZCANO, DIEGO J.
Universidad de Pamplona
Colombia
LYNAM, ANTONY
Wildlife Conservation Society (WSC) - Asia Program
Thailand
MANGINI, PAULO ROGERIO
TRÍADE
Brazil
MARIN WIKANDER, SOFÍA
Universidad Simón Bolívar
Venezuela
MARINEROS, LEONEL
IRBIO Zamorano
Honduras
MARTYR, DEBORAH
Flora and Fauna International - Indonesia
Indonesia
MATOLA, SHARON
Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center
Belize
MCCANN, NIALL
Cardiff University
United Kingdom
MEDICI, PATRÍCIA
IPÊ - Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas
Brazil
MENDOZA, ALBERTO
Vet Tech Institute / AZA Tapir TAG Latin America
Advisor
United States
MOGOLLON, HUGO
Ecuador
MONTENEGRO, OLGA LUCIA
Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)
Colombia
MORALES, MIGUEL A.
Conservation International
United States
MUENCH, CARLOS
CIEco-Centro de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas,
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Mexico
NARANJO, EDUARDO
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR)
Mexico
NOGALES, FERNANDO
Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja (UTPL) /
Instituto Ecuatoriano de Propiedad Intelectual (IEPI)
Ecuador

TSG MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
29
NOVARINO, WILSON
Andalas University
Indonesia
NUGROHO, AGUNG
Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB)
Inodnesia
O‘FARRILL, GEORGINA
University of Toronto
Canada
OLOCCO, MARÍA JULIETA
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Argentina
ORDÓÑEZ DELGADO, LEONARDO
Findación Ecológica Arcoiris
Ecuador
ORDONNEAU, DOROTHÉE
Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias de Esperanza -
Universidad Nacional del Litoral
France
PAVIOLO, AGUSTÍN
CONICET-Instituto de Biología Subtropical, Univ. Nac.
de Misiones y CelBA
Argentina
PERERA, LUCY
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) – Venezuela
Venezuela
PINHO, GABRIELA
Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia
Brazil
POÓT, CELSO
Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Center
Belize
PRASTITI, SHARMY
Taman Safari Indonesia / South East Asia Zoological
Association (SEAZA)
Indonesia
PUKAZHENTHI, BUDHAN
Smithsonian Institution‘s National Zoological Park,
Conservation and Research Center
United States
QUSE, VIVIANA BEATRIZ
Argentina
RESTREPO, HECTOR FRANCISCO
Fundación Wii
Colombia
REYES PUIG, JUAN PABLO
Fundación Oscar Efrén Reyes
Ecuador
RICHARD-HANSEN, CÉCILE
Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage
(ONCFS) / Direction Études et Recherches
French Guiana
ROBERTS, RACHEL
SSC Network Coordination Officer, IUCN Species
Survival Commission (SSC)
United Kingdom
RODRÍGUEZ ORTIZ, JULIANA
Universidad Nacional de Colombia (UNAL)
Colombia
ROMAN, JOSEPH
Virginia Zoological Park / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
RUIZ FUAMAGALLI, JOSÉ ROBERTO
Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala
Guatemala
RUSSO, KELLY J.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science
United States
SACASA, EDUARDO
Fundación Amigos del Zoológico Nicaragüense
(FAZOONIC)
Nicaragua
SANCHES, ALEXANDRA
UNESP
Brazil
SANCHEZ, CARLOS
Chicago Zoological Society
United States
SANDOVAL ARENAS, SERGIO
Colombia
SARMIENTO DUEÑAS, ADRIANA MERCEDES
Fundación Gaia Amazonas
Colombia

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Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
30
SCHWARTZ, KARIN R.
ISIS
Unites States
SCHWARTZ, RICHARD
Nashville Zoo at Grassmere / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
SEITZ, STEFAN
Consultant
Germany
SHEWMAN, HELEN
Woodland Park Zoo
United States
SHOEMAKER, ALAN H.
TSG / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
SHWE, NAY MYO
Friends of Wildlife (FoW)
Myanmar
SIMPSON, BOYD
Copenhagen Zoo - Southeast Asia Conservation
Programme
Malaysia
SMITH, DIORENE
Summit Zoo
Panama
STAHL, TIM
Stahl PhotoGraphics
United States
STANCER, MICHELE
San Diego Zoo / AZA Tapir TAG
United States
SUÁREZ MEJÍA, JAIME
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Facultad de
Estudios Ambientales y Rurales
Colombia
TAPIA, ANDRÉS
Centro Ecológico Shanca Arajuno
Ecuador
TOBLER, MATHIAS
San Diego Zoo Global
United States
TORRES, NATALIA
Ecuador
TRAEHOLT, CARL
Copenhagen Zoo - Southeast Asia Conservation
Programme
Malaysia
VARELA, DIEGO
Conservación Argentina
Argentina
WALLACE, ROBERT B.
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) - Bolivia
Bolivia
WILLIAMS, KEITH
Private Consultant
Australia
WOHLERS, HUMBERTO
The Belize Zoo and Tropical Education Centre
Belize
ZAINUDDIN, ZAINAL ZAHARI
Malaysia
ZAVADA, JEANNE
East Tennessee State University & General Shale
Brick Natural History Museum at Gray Fossil Site
United States
ZAVADA, MICHAEL
East Tennessee State University & General Shale
Brick Natural History Museum at Gray Fossil Site
United States

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE IUCN/SSC TAPIR SPECIALIST GROUP
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
31
Scope
The Tapir Conservation, the Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir
Specialist Group aims to provide information regarding all aspects of
tapir natural history. Items of news, recent events, recent publications,
thesis abstracts, workshop proceedings etc concerning tapirs are
welcome. Manuscripts should be submitted in MS Word (.doc, at this
moment we cannot accept documents in .docx format).
The Newsletter will publish original work by:
• Scientists, wildlife biologists, park managers and other con-
tributors on any aspect of tapir natural history including
distribution, ecology, evolution, genetics, habitat, husbandry,
management, policy and taxonomy.
Preference is given to material that has the potential to improve
conservation management and enhances understanding of tapir con-
servation in its respective range countries.
The primary languages of the Newsletter are English and Spanish.
Abstracts in English are preferred.
Papers and Short Communications
Full Papers (2,000-5,000 words) and Short Communications (200-
2,000 words) are invited on topics relevant to the Newsletter’s focus,
including:
• Research on the status, ecology or behaviour of tapirs.
• Research on the status or ecology of tapir habitats, including
soil composition, mineral deposits (e.g., salt licks) and topo-
graphy.
• Husbandry and captive management.
• Veterinarian and genetic aspects.
• Reviews of conservation plans, policy and legislation.
• Conservation management plans for species, habitats or
areas.
• Tapirs and local communities (e.g., hunting, bush meat and
cultural aspects).
• Research on the ecological role of tapir, for example, seed
dispersers, prey for predators and facilitators of forest re-
growth.
• Natural history and taxonomy of tapirs (e.g., evolution,
palaeontology and extinction).
How to Submit a Manuscript
Manuscripts should be submitted in electronic format by e-mail to
the contributions editor at the email provided. Hard copies will not
be accepted.
Contributions Editor:
Anders Gonçalves da Silva
e-mail: andersgs@gmail.com
In the covering e-mail, the Lead Author must confirm that:
a) the submitted manuscript has not been published
elsewhere,
b) all of the authors have read the submitted manuscript and
agreed to its submission,
all research was conducted with the necessary approval
and permit from the appropriate authorities and adhere to
appropriate animal manipulation guides.
Review and Editing
All contributors are strongly advised to ensure that their spelling and
grammar is checked by native English or Spanish speaker(s) before
the manuscript is submitted to the Contributions Editor. The Editorial
Team reserves the right to reject manuscripts that are poorly written.
All manuscripts will be subject to peer review by a minimum of two
reviewers. Authors are welcome to suggest appropriate reviewers;
however, the Contributions Editor reserves the right to appoint revie-
wers that seem appropriate and competent for the task.
Proofs will be sent to authors as a portable document format (PDF)
file attached to an e-mail note. Corrected proofs should be returned
to the Editor within 3 days of receipt. Minor corrections can be com-
municated by e-mail.
The Editorial Team welcomes contributions to the other sections of
the Newsletter:
News
Concise reports (<300 words) on news of general interest to tapir
research and conservation. This may include announcements of new
initiatives; for example, the launch of new projects, conferences, fun-
ding opportunities, new relevant publications and discoveries.
Letters to the Editor
Informative contributions (<650 words) in response to material
published in the Newsletter.
Preparation of Manuscripts
Contributions in English should make use of UK English spelling [if
in doubt, Microsoft Word and similar software can be set to check
spelling and grammar for “English (UK)” language]. The cover page
should contain the title and full mailing address, e-mail address and
address of the Lead Author and all additional authors. All pages
should be numbered consecutively, and the order of the sections of
the manuscript should be: cover page, main text, acknowledgement,
tables, figures and plates.
Title
This should be a succinct description of the work, in no more than
20 words.
Abstract
Full Papers only. This should describe, in 100-200 words, the aims,
methods, major findings and conclusions. It should be informative and
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE IUCN/SSC TAPIR SPECIALIST GROUP
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
32
intelligible without reference to the text, and should not contain any
references or undefined abbreviations.
Keywords
Up to five pertinent words, in alphabetical order.
Format
For ease of layout, please submit all manuscripts with a minimum of
formatting (e.g. avoid specific formats for headings etc); however, the
following is needed:
• Manuscripts should be double-spaced.
• Submissions can be in ‘doc, ‘rtf’ or ‘wpd’ format, preferably
as one file attached to one covering email.
• Avoid writing headlines in CAPITAL letters.
• Font type and size should be Times New Roman # 12
• Font type for tables should be Arial and 0.5 dot lines.
• 1 inch (2.54 cm) margins for all margins
• Number pages consecutively starting with the title page ,
numbers should be on the bottom right hand corner
• Font type for tables should be Arial and 0.5 dot lines.
• Pictures and illustrations should be in as high resolution as
possible to allow for proper downscaling and submitted as
separate files in EPS or JPG format.
References
References should be cited in the text as, for example, MacArthur &
Wilson (1967) or (Foerster, 1998). For three or more authors use the
first author’s surname followed by et al.; for example, Herrera et al.
(1999). Multiple references should be in chronological order. The refe-
rence list should be in alphabetical order, and article titles and the titles
of serial publications should be given in full. In cases where an author
is referenced multiple times the most recent publication should be
listed first. Please check that all listed references are used in the text
and vice versa. The following are examples of house style:
Journal Article
Herrera, J.C., Taber, A., Wallace, R.B. & Painter, L. 1999. Lowland tapir
(Tapirus terrestris) behavioural ecology in a southern Amazonian tropi-
cal forest. Vida Silv. Tropicale 8:31-37.
Chapter in Book
Janssen, D.L., Rideout, B.A. & Edwards, M.S. 1999. Tapir Medicine. In:
M.E. Fowler & R. E. Miller (eds.) Zoo and Wild Animal Medicine,
pp.562-568. W.B. Saunders Co., Philadelphia, USA.
Book
MacArthur, R.H. & Wilson, E.O. (1967) The Theory of Island Biogeography.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, USA.
Thesis/Dissertation
Foerster. C.R. 1998. Ambito de Hogar, Patron de Movimentso y Dieta
de la Danta Centroamericana (Tapirus bairdii) en el Parque Nacional
Corcovado, Costa Rica. M.S. thesis. Universidad Nacional, Heredia,
Costa Rica.
Report
Santiapilli, C. & Ramono, W.S. 1989. The Status and Conservation of
the Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus) in Sumatra, Indonesia. Unpublished
Report, Worldwide Fund for Nature, Bogor, Indonesia.
Web
IUCN (2007) 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Http://www.
redlist.org [accessed 1 May 2009].
Tables, figures and plates
These should be self-explanatory, each on a separate page and with
an appropriate caption. Figures should be in black and white. Plates
will only be included in an article if they form part of evidence that
is integral to the subject studied (e.g., a camera-trap photograph of a
rare situation), if they are of good quality, and if they do not need to
be printed in colour.
Species names
The first time a species is mentioned, its scientific name should fol-
low without intervening punctuation: e.g., Malay tapir Tapirus indicus.
English names should be in lower case throughout except where they
incorporate a proper name (e.g., Asian elephant, Malay tapir).
Abbreviations
Full expansion should be given at first mention in the text.
Units of measurement
Use metric units only for measurements of area, mass, height, distance
etc.
Copyright
The copyright for all published articles will be held by the publisher
unless otherwise stated.
Publisher
IUCN Tapir Specialist Group
Website
www.tapirs.org
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE IUCN/SSC TAPIR SPECIALIST GROUP
Tapir Conservation n The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group n Vol. 24 n No. 33 n July 2015
33
Chair
Patrícia Medici, Brazil
Steering Committee
Alan Shoemaker, United States
Alberto Mendoza, Mexico/United States
Anders Gonçalves da Silva, Brazil/Australia
Bengt Holst, Denmark
Carl Traeholt, Malaysia
Gilia Angell, United States
Jeffrey Flocken, United States
Kelly Russo, United States
Mathias Tobler, Switzerland/United States
Michael Dee, United States
Michele Stancer, United States
Rick Schwartz, United States
Viviana Quse, Argentina
Baird’s Tapir Coordinator
Manolo García, Guatemala
Lowland Tapir Coordinator
Viviana Beatriz Quse, Argentina
Malayan Tapir Coordinator
Carl Traeholt, Malaysia
Mountain Tapir Coordinator
Armando Castellanos, Ecuador
Red List Authority
Red List Focal Point: Alan H. Shoemaker, United States
Tapir Conservation Newsletter Editors
Contributions Editor: Anders Gonçalves da Silva, Brazil/Australia
Layout & Distribution Editors: Danielle Lalonde, Australia, and
Kelly J. Russo, United States
Virtual Library Manager
Mathias Tobler, Switzerland/United States
Fundraising Committee Coordinator
Patrícia Medici, Brazil
Action Planning Committee Coordinator
Patrícia Medici, Brazil
Action Plan Implementation Taskforce
TSG Species Coordinators & TSG Country Coordinators
Zoo Committee Coordinator
Viviana Quse, Argentina
Veterinary Committee Coordinator
Viviana Quse, Argentina
Genetics Committee Coordinators
Anders Gonçalves da Silva, Brazil/Australia
Marketing & Education Committee Coordinators
Kelly J. Russo, United States
Webmasters
Kara Masharani, United States
Re-Introduction & Translocation Advisory
Committee Coordinators
Patrícia Medici, Brazil and Anders Gonçalves da Silva, Brazil/Australia
Nutrition Consultant
Maria Julieta Olocco, Argentina
Evolution Consultant
Matthew Colbert, United States
Country Coordinators
Argentina: Silvia Chalukian
Belize: In the process of identifying a coordinator
Bolivia: Guido Ayala
Brazil: Patrícia Medici
Colombia: Olga Montenegro
Costa Rica: In the process of identifying a coordinator
Ecuador: Fernando Nogales
Guatemala: Raquel Leonardo
Guiana Shield (French Guiana, Guiana and Suriname):
Benoit de Thoisy
Honduras: Nereyda Estrada Andino
Indonesia: Wilson Novarino
Malaysia: Zainal Zahari Zainuddin
Mexico: Georgina O’Farrill
Myanmar: U Nay Myo Shwe
Nicaragua: Christopher Jordan
Panama: In the process of identifying a coordinator
Paraguay: José Luis Cartes
Peru: Jessica Amanzo
Thailand: Antony Lynam
Venezuela: In the process of identifying a coordinator
TAPIR SPECIALIST GROUP STRUCTURE

Contents
Contents .......................................................... 2
Editorial Board ................................................ 2
From the Editor ................................................ 3
Letter from the Editor
Anders Gonçalves da Silva ................................... 3
Conservation .................................................... 4
Presencia y primeras fotografías del Tapir de Tierras
Bajas (Tapirus terrestris) en el Parque Nacional Natural
Paramillo, Córdoba, Colombia
Javier Racero-Casarrubia y Andrés Arias-Alzate ....... 4
Vampire bats bite lowland tapirs in Yasuni National
Park, Ecuador
Armando X. Castellanos P. and Gabriela A.
Banegas V. ......................................................... 7
Crop-raiding Baird’s Tapir Provoke Diverse Reactions
from Subsistence Farmers in Belize
Siân Waters ........................................................ 8
Reintroduced Andean tapir attacks a person in the
Antisana Ecological Reserve, Ecuador
Armando Castellanos and Leopoldo Gomez ........... 11
Record and track description of a Baird’s tapir juvenile
in the north of Oaxaca
Luis David Camarillo-Chávez, Mario C. Lavariega
and Miguel Briones-Salas ................................... 13
Contributions ................................................. 15
Integrating current range-wide occurrence data with
species distribution models to map the potential
distribution of Baird’s Tapir
Cody Schank, Eduardo Mendoza, Manolo J. García
Vettorazzi, Michael V. Cove, Christopher A. Jordan,
Georgina O‘Farrill, Ninon Meyer, Diego J. Lizcano,
Nereyda Estrada, Celso Poot, and Raquel
Leonardo ......................................................... 15
Tapir Specialist Group Members .................... 26
Instructions for Authors ................................ 31
Tapir Specialist Group Structure ................... 33
TAPIR CONSERVATION
The Newsletter of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group www.tapirs.org
Volume 24 • No. 33 • July 2015