Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to Carnivora. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Baird's Tapir - Tapirus bairdii
Topic Started: Nov 14 2012, 04:55 PM (2,473 Views)
Scalesofanubis
Omnivore
[ *  *  *  *  * ]
Baird's Tapir - Tapirus bairdii

Posted Image

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Tapiridae
Genus: Tapirus
Species: Tapirus bairdii

Posted Image

Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) is a species of tapir native to Central America and northern South America. It is one of three Latin American species of tapir.

Posted Image

Names
Baird's tapir is named for the American naturalist Spencer Fullerton Baird, who traveled to Mexico in 1843 and observed the animals. However, the species was first documented by another American naturalist, W. T. White. The tapir is the largest land mammal in Central America. Like the other Latin American tapirs (the mountain tapir and the South American tapir), Baird's tapir is commonly called danta by people in all areas. In the regions around Oaxaca and Veracruz, it is referred to as the anteburro. Panamanians, and Colombians call it macho de monte, and in Belize, where Baird's tapir is the national animal, it is known as the mountain cow.
n Mexico, it is called tzemen in Tzeltal; in Lacandon, it is called cash-i-tzimin, meaning "jungle horse" and in Tojolab'al it is called niguanchan, meaning "big animal". In Panama, the Kunas people call Baird's tapir moli in their colloquial language (Tule kaya), oloalikinyalilele, oloswikinyaliler, or oloalikinyappi in their political language (Sakla kaya), and ekwirmakka or ekwilamakkatola in their spiritual language (Suar mimmi kaya).

Posted Image

Description
Baird's tapir has a distinctive cream-colored marking on its face and throat and a dark spot on each cheek, behind and below the eye. The rest of its hair is dark brown or grayish-brown. This tapir is the largest of the three American species and the largest native land mammal in both Central and South America. Baird's tapirs average up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in length, not counting a stubby, vestigal tail of 7–13 cm (2.8–5.1 in), and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) in height. Body mass in adults can range from 150 to 400 kilograms (330 to 880 lb). Like the other species of tapirs, they have small, stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot.

Posted Image

Life Cycle
The gestation period is about 400 days, after which one offspring is born. Multiple births are extremely rare. The babies, as with all species of tapir, have reddish-brown hair with white spots and stripes, a camouflage which affords them excellent protection in the dappled light of the forest. This pattern eventually fades into the adult coloration.
For the first week of their lives, infant Baird's tapirs are hidden in secluded locations while their mothers forage for food and return periodically to nurse them. Later, the young follow their mothers on feeding expeditions. At three weeks of age, the young are able to swim. Weaning occurs after one year, and sexual maturity is usually reached six to 12 months later. Baird's tapirs can live for over 30 years.

Posted Image

Range and Habitat
T. bairdii is generally found in humid habitats, from sea level to 3,600 m. The species is strongly associated with water and is found in marsh and swamp areas, mangroves, wet tropical rainforest, riparian woodland, monsoon deciduous forest, dry deciduous forest, montane cloud forest and paramo.
The Mosquitia area of Honduras and Nicaragua is particularly important because of its large size and low human population density. There are recent sightings and reports from El Salvador (Sanchez-Nuñez et al. 2007) suggesting it still persists there at some level. Based on 2004 aerial surveys of available habitat in Honduras, the population is estimated to be 1,859 individuals. The relatively small Corcovado National Park in Costa Rica is thought to hold at least 300 tapirs (C. Foerster, unpublished data). Recent surveys in the Cordillera Talamanca found tapirs to be locally among the most abundant large vertebrate above 2,000 m elevation, where large populations still remain in areas where they are not hunted (J. Schipper and J. Gonzalez-Maya pers. comm.).

Recently, several individuals of this species have been observed along the Atlantic coast in the northern region of Colombia known as Chocó in the Tripogadi Serrania, outside Los Katios National Park. Reports of Baird’s tapir presence near Jurado and the upper Salaque confirm its presence in northwestern Colombia’s Darien region (D. J. Lizcano pers. comm.). If each adult tapir requires at least 500 hectares, a rough estimate is 450 animals although hunting, warfare and habitat destruction and fragmentation could impact this estimate.

In the Republic of Panama, reports received since 2000 suggest that Baird’s tapirs are distributed continuously along the forests of the Caribbean slope. Their range extends from Bocas del Toro in western Panama throughout the Panama Canal watershed to the Kuna Yala Comarca (R. Samudio pers. comm.). These reports also confirm the presence along the Cordillera Central in western Panama, including prime habitat above 3,000 m, as well as in the Darien region near the Colombian border. The qualitative estimations are based on sightings and tracks considered to be from tapirs, suggesting that the species is common in the Panamanian portio of the La Amistad International Peace Park as well as the Darien and Chagres National Parks and the Rio Caimito private reserve. Gonzalez Maya (2008) reports a high density (3.03 individuals/km²) around the 2,600 meters and a comparative much higher relative abundance in mid elevations (2000-3000) on a 800-3500 meters elevation gradient in the Costa Rican portion of La Amistad .

On the map, the red is for regions where the tapir is believed extirpated, and the yellow for where it's presence is unconfirmed.

Posted Image

Behavior
Baird's tapir may be active at all hours, but is primarily nocturnal. It forages for leaves and fallen fruit, using well-worn tapir paths which zig-zag through the thick undergrowth of the forest. The animal usually stays close to water and enjoys swimming and wading – on especially hot days, individuals will rest in a watering hole for hours with only their heads above water. It generally leads a solitary life, though feeding groups are not uncommon and individuals, especially those of different ages (young with their mothers, juveniles with adults) are often observed together. The animals communicate with one another through shrill whistles and squeaks. Adults can be potentially dangerous to humans and should not be approached if spotted in the wild. The animal being most likely to follow or chase a human for a bit, though they have been known to charge and gore humans on rare occasions.

Posted Image

Threats
According to the IUCN, Baird's tapir is in danger of extinction, and in 1996 it was officially classified as "Vulnerable". Hunting by humans and habitat loss are the two major factors in the species' diminishing numbers. Though in many areas the animal is only hunted by a few humans, any loss of life is a serious blow to the tapir population, especially because their reproductive rate is so slow. Though in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Panama, hunting of Baird's tapirs is illegal, but the laws protecting them are often completely unenforced. Furthermore, restrictions against hunting do not address the problem of deforestation. Therefore, many conservationists focus on environmental education and sustainable forestry to try to save Baird's tapir and other rainforest species from extinction. Attacks on humans are rare and normally in self-defense. In 2006, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Echandi, the former Costa Rican Minister of Environment and Energy, was attacked and injured by a tapir after he followed it off the trail.
An adult Baird's tapir, being such a massive mammal, has very few natural predators. Only large adult American crocodiles (4 metres / 13 feet or more) and adult jaguars are capable of preying on tapirs, although even in these cases the outcome is unpredictable and, more often than not, in the tapir's favor (as is evident on multiple tapirs documented in Corcovado National Park with large claw marks covering their hides).

Posted Image
Edited by Taipan, Nov 15 2012, 05:39 PM.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
ZetaBoards - Free Forum Hosting
Free Forums with no limits on posts or members.
« Previous Topic · Mammalia · Next Topic »
Add Reply