The tapir is one of the first species in its habitat to be adversely affected by human disturbance. The new Lowland Tapir Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan developed during the Lowland Tapir Population and Habitat Viability Assessment (PHVA) Workshop held in Brazil in 2007 identified habitat destruction and fragmentation, with resulting population isolation, and intensive hunting as the main factors behind the decline of lowland tapir populations throughout their geographic range.

In 1996, Patrícia Medici started a long-term research and conservation program on lowland tapirs in the Atlantic Forests of the Pontal do Paranapanema Region, São Paulo, Brazil. In order to advance scientific knowledge and promote the conservation of this widely spread but seriously imperiled large mammal, Patrícia has launched a country-wide Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative that will establish tapir research and conservation programs in other key biomes of Brazil. The first of these is a Tapir Research and Conservation Program in the Brazilian Pantanal, where no tapir research has ever been conducted. The next biomes where the initiative will be established in the near future are the Amazon and Cerrado. Tapir Programs in each biome will aim to benefit tapirs as well as a large number of other species and key habitats while having long-term positive impacts on the local communities.

TAPIR MERCHANDIZE

Adult t-shirts

Adult t-shirts

Infant T-shirt

Infant bag