Educator Resources

Tapir Tracks Curriculum

This curriculum was created for classroom teachers and educators at zoos and other nonformal science learning centers to enable you and your students to discover tapirs of the Americas and Asia.
Because tapirs spread seeds from the fruits they eat, these little-known mammals are essential to the health of the forests they inhabit. However, tapir populations are rapidly declining. Loss of their habitat and hunting threaten tapir survival. An international team of scientists and conservationists works to study wild tapirs, manage the zoo-based population, protect habitat, and educate local communities. We collaborate through the Tapir Specialist Group, of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission.

This packet includes background information along with lesson plans and activities that can easily be adapted for kindergarten, elementary and secondary school students (grades K-12).

This toolkit is designed to enable you to meet curriculum requirements in multiple subjects. Students can explore the world’s tapirs through science, environmental studies, technology, social studies, geography, the arts and creative writing activities.

We hope that by discovering tapirs through these lessons and engaging activities that students will care and take action to protect tapirs and their natural habitat. Thank you for educating and inspiring the next generation of conservationists!

Download TAPIR TRACKS – A Curriculum Guide for Educators – English
Download TAPIR TRACKS – A Curriculum Guide for Educators – Portuguese
Download TAPIR TRACKS – Curriculum Evaluation – ENGLISH

Download Accompanying Photos & Videos (Zip files):

What is a Tapir
Amazing Adaptations!
Flexible Feet
Gardeners of the Forest
Mix and Match Tapirs
Protecting Tapirs
See Like a Tapir
Studying Wild Tapirs
See Like a Tapir
Tapirs in Culture and Art
Talk to Me
What’s for Lunch
Where Tapirs Live
Growing Up Tapir
You Can Help Save Tapirs!