QUICK LINKS FOR THIS ISSUE: Tapirs Currently being Monitored Reproduction New Baby for Big Mama New Raidocollars for 2 Juveniles Juveniles leave Study Area 3 year Grant from Houston Zoo Idea Wild Donates Radiocollars for 2004

Tapirs Currently Being Monitored

• Playa: Adult female first captured January 1998
• Sol: Adult male first captured February 1998
• Balsa: 2-yr old daughter of Playa first captured April 2002
• Cabo: 13-month-old offspring of Playa

• Big Mama: Adult female first captured December 1994
• Thor: Adult male first captured April 2001
• Prima: 2-yr old daughter of Big Mama first captured April 2002
• Nepal: 13-month old male of Big Mama
  
• Sirena: Newborn female of Big Mama
  

• Café: Adult male first captured January 1998.
• Leche: Adult female first captured January 1998.
• Crema: 14-month old offspring of Leche.
• Orion: 3-month old male offspring of Leche.

• Rodeo: Adult male first captured April 1997
• Rio: Adult male first captured January 1998

• Lefty: Adult male first captured July 1997

Reproduction

BIG MAMA DOES IT AGAIN!!

Once again, Big Mama lives up to her name by giving birth to another healthy baby tapir. As close as we can determine, "Sirena" was born on November 25, 2003, a little more than 13 months after Mama's previous baby, Nepal. Given the fact that a tapir's gestation period is 13 months, Mama must have become pregnant when Nepal was very, very young. Sirena is the seventh offspring (5 male, 2 female) born to Big Mama since we began monitoring her in 1994.

TWO YOUNG JUVENILES FITTED WITH RADIOCOLLARS

Nepal Cabo

Nepal (top) and Cabo (below), the youngest members of the Sirena tapir population were fitted with their first radiocollars in December 2003. Both male tapirs were born last October; Nepal to Big Mama and Cabo to Playa. As is our custom, we waited about a year before radiocollaring Nepal and Cabo. We do this primarily because of the rapid growth rate that tapirs exhibit during their first year. If we were to place a collar on a very young animal we would be forced to immobilize him or her every couple of months to loosen the collar. Fortunately, young tapirs remain with their mother during their first year and so allow us to monitor their development and survival by homing in on the mother's radiocollar once a week. Both of the immobilizations were conducted without complications. Well, almost. Just as I was tightening the screws on Nepal's collar, my field assistant heard some heavy breathing nearby. It turned out to be Big Mama, zeroing in on the smell of bananas at the capture site. Since you can never predict how one animal will react to an immobilized one, I was a little nervous. But once again, the power of the banana saved the day. I had my assistant collect all the leftover bananas and lead Big Mama in circles while I finished connecting the collar and taking measurements. I don't think Mama even knew Nepal was around until he woke up and started eating the bananas again.

PINTO AND DEDO LEAVE STUDY AREA

For the last couple of months we have not been able to find Dedo (top) or Pinto (below), two of our radiocollared juveniles. This is actually not a surprising development since both are now old enough to be dispersing from their mother's home range. Dedo is 5-years old, while Pinto will be 4-years old in March. Dedo actually left his maternal territory over a year ago but remained in the Sirena area, occupying the no-mans-land between established tapir territories. Based on the behavior of other juveniles of the same age, I had been expecting Dedo to leave the study area completely about this time. Pinto, on the other hand, is still somewhat young to have dispersed permanently from the area. Earlier this year he did disappear from the study area for a couple of weeks, returning with extensive scarring from fighting with other tapirs. Again, this is perfectly normal for a tapir of this age. I believe they are making exploratory excursions during these trips, looking for unoccupied area where they might be able to establish their own territories and attract their own mate. However, I was expecting Pinto to spend his fourth year in no-mans-land and then disperse permanently the next year (2005). Maybe he got lucky sooner than the other tapirs and found a nice patch of forest where he is already setting up his own family unit.

HOUSTON ZOO TO SUPPORT
BAIRD'S TAPIR PROJECT

Thanks to The Conservation Committee at the Houston Zoo the next three years will be much less stressful for the Baird's Tapir Project. The Houston Zoo has generously agreed to provide both financial and technical support for the project from 2004 through 2006. The annual contribution of $16,923 will cover all the expenses for the core of the Baird's Tapir Project, including radiotelemetry equipment, room and board, capture supplies, permits, and transportation. It will also allow me to hire a full-time assistant to help me collect the necessary data. In addition to this monetary donation, I am working with members of the Houston Zoo's staff to develop an environmental education program for the communities surrounding Corcovado National Park. We are also discussing other possible projects such as the evaluation of the status of Baird's tapir throughout all of Costa Rica. The beauty of the financial support is that it will free up much of the time I usually spend on writing grant proposals and other fund raising activities, and allow me to concentrate on data collection and the development of new projects. THANKS A MILLION HOUSTON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIVE RADIOCOLLARS DONATED BY IDEA WILD

Idea Wild is a non-profit organization working to minimize the loss of biodiversity by empowering people on the front lines of conservation in Latin America with equipment and supplies. Wally Van Sickle and his dedicated crew at Idea Wild have been a consistent source of support since the beginning of the Baird's Tapir Project. This year was no exception as the Idea Wild paid for the refurbishment of 5 radiocollars. The collars I use for the project, manufactured by Telonics, Inc in Mesa, Arizona, have a battery life of approximately 3 years. In 2004, the rebuilt collars will be used to replace worn-out collars on Thor, Pinto, Dedo and Nepal. The remaining collar will be held in reserve for emergencies.