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The IUCN/SSC-affiliated Tapir Specialist Group is a global group of biologists, zoo professionals, researchers and advocates dedicated to conserving tapirs and their habitat through strategic action-planning in countries where tapirs live, information sharing, and through educational outreach that shows the importance of the tapir to local ecosystems and to the world at large. | 
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Tapir
Specialist Group Conservation Fund 2006 Grants
Grants are given to projects targeted at
research with wild and or captive tapirs; projects targeted at restoration,
protection and conservation of tapir habitat in South and Central
America and Southeast Asia; education and capacity-building programs
for local communities within the tapirs' range in those geographic
areas. 2006 Summary of Grants
ABSTRACT: This project is the
begging of an educational program for the conservation of Baird's
tapir and its habitat in Guatemala. A workshop will be held, in
order to contact organizations (governmental and NGOs) which work
in areas of potential distribution of Baird's tapir in the country,
form a Support Net and get specific information about tapir's status
in each area. With the data collected in the workshop, educational
and divulgation material will be design, printed and given to the
organizations for local and regional dissemination. With the creation
of the Support net we expect a flow of information and cooperation
between organizations. With this workshop and the design of the
educational material will start an educational program for Guatemala,
and valuable information is going to be generated for the development
of a National Action Plan for Tapir's and it's habitat conservation.
ABSTRACT: Baird's tapir is listed as an endangered species in all Mesoamerican countries. This species virtually had a continuous distribution from southeastern Mexico to northwestern Colombia, ranging from coastal forests and wetlands at sea level to cloud forests and páramos above 3,000 m. However, high rates of deforestation, habitat fragmentation and overhunting have restricted current tapir distribution to mostly protected and / or remote areas. Given the fast human population growth in southeastern Mexico, it seems essential to maintain large preserves extant for the survival of viable tapir populations. It is also very important to identify large forest fragments where tapirs remain in order to promote habitat management, hunting regulation, and other conservation practices in surrounding human communities. This project aims to: (1) estimate the distribution, abundance, home range, and movement patterns of tapir populations inside Zoque Forest; (2) To assess the impact of hunting on the specie considered; (3) to design and propose a conservation strategy that contemplates the sustainable use and monitoring of the specie in collaboration with local inhabitants. These objectives are thoroughly included in the Action Plan's list of priorities for Baird's tapir conservation.
ABSTRACT: The Mamapacha
massif is an isolated fragment of 27,512 hectares of cloud forest
and páramos, located in the department of Boyacá in
the north of the Colombian Eastern Cordillera. Recently there were
a few unconfirmed reports of the Andean tapir in this area, which
may imply its northernmost distribution, together with its highly
endangered status. This project aims to collect scientific evidences
of the presence of the Andean tapir in the Mamapacha massif, in
order to confirm whether the species currently survives in this
place or not.
ABSTRACT: The lowland tapir
(Tapirus terrestris) is the largest Brazilian mammal. The species
is listed as endangered on the Red List of São Paulo State,
Brazil, given the fact that it only exists in small populations
inhabiting small forest patches. One of these populations occurs
in the Pontal do Paranapanema Region, located in the extreme west
of São Paulo State, Brazil. This region includes Morro do
Diabo State Park (35,000ha), one of the last remnants of Atlantic
Forest of significant size, Black-Lion-Tamarin Ecological Station
(~12,000ha), and surrounding forest fragments. This project aims
to develop the Footprint Identification Technique for lowland tapirs
and use this tool to estimate and monitor population density over
time. FIT is a non-invasive, inexpensive wildlife monitoring technique.
For the development of the algorithm, digital photographs of tapir
footprints are taken and downloaded into a computer. Landmarks are
placed at anatomical references points on the image. SAS software,
customized for this purpose, derives more points using an input
algorithm and measures distances and angles between all the points.
These measurements create a geometric profile and statistical tools
to enable individual tapirs (or clusters of a few animals) to be
identified. Results from this project will be extremely important
for the long-term lowland tapir monitoring program at the Pontal
region.
ABSTRACT: The lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) is the largest herbivore species in Paraguay. It is considered "vulnerable" at the regional level 12 and declining at the country level. High rates of habitat destruction and fragmentation, as well as poaching, are the main threats to this species. Although the species has been the subject of numerous studies throughout its geographic range, no research on its ecology has been conducted in Paraguay. The purpose of this research is to study the foraging habitat preferences, diet composition, and the role of lowland tapir as seed disperser in the Mbaracayú Forest Reserve. The methodology includes three components: first, information on foraging preferences will be collected through direct observation of browsed vegetation recorded along line-transects. Second, diet composition will be assessed through fecal analysis. Third, the seed dispersal role will be studied comparing germination rates of plant seeds found in feces with seeds collected in the wild. We expect that the results of this research will guide wildlife managers and policy-makers in implementing effective conservation actions for this species. They will also contribute directly to achieving the goals of the Tapir Specialist Group (TSG) at the regional level.
ABSTRACT: The El Rey-Centinela Conservation Unit, located in the mid-Yungas region, includes El Rey National Park and many private lands that still maintain a considerable amount (about 380,000 ha) of continuous montane forests, which have been only slightly disturbed, and modified by humans. Basic ecological information for landscape planning for tapirs long-term survival is urgent. This strategic planning must be supported with basic ecological information. Using non-invasive methods such as digital camera traps, track analysis, transects and DNA through feces analysis, in different areas of the Park and nearby lands, we will assess density, and habitat use of tapirs. This project is the first stage, which involves the assessment in some sectors of the Unit.
NOTE: Grant deadlines are July
of each year. Check back for call for submissions next year. |
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