Tapirs

Tapirs are an important species in the ecosystem but are threatened by habitat destruction and hunting.

The Lowland Tapir is one of four tapir species and is listed as vulnerable across its South American range. Chester Zoo has been supporting The Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative team, run  by IPÊ (Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas) and led by Patricia Medici, since 2002.  The team began carrying out research in the Atlantic Rainforest in 1996, and spent 12 years capturing, radio-collaring and monitoring tapirs.  This research gathered information about tapir ranging behaviour, demography, dispersal patterns, genetics, epidemiology, and feeding ecology.

Following on from the success of the Atlantic Forest research, the team expanded their research to the Pantanal, the world’s largest area of wetland and thought to be the world’s most dense biodiversity ecosystem, an area where no tapir research has ever been carried out.

It is hoped the data collected will be used to assess the conservation status and viability of the Lowland Tapir populations in the Brazilian Pantanal, and to design a specific set of recommendations for the conservation of this species in the region.

Photographs courtesy of Patricia Medici.