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Baird's Tapir Project Quarterly Update April...May...June 2003 |
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Prepared by Charles Foerster Primary investigator, Baird's Tapir Project Please send comments and/or questions to: |
conservation programs throughout Central and South America by
providing detailed, reliable data on the ecology of an undisturbed,
non-hunted population of Baird’s tapirs.
"By understanding how an intact, healthy tapir population functions, we will be better
equipped to identify and correct irregularities in those populations
altered by human activities."
QUICK LINKS
FOR THIS ISSUE:
Tapirs currently being monitoredReproduction
Tapir Family Unit Profile
Ongoing Projects
Adopt-a-Tapir Program
Web Page Update
Tapirs Currently Being Monitored
ZONE 1
- Playa: Adult female first captured January 1998
- Cabo: 9-month-old offspring of Playa
- Sol: Adult male first captured February 1998
- Balsa: 21-month old daughter of Playa first captured April 2002
- Sandalo: Juvenile male first captured April 2002
- Big Mama: Adult female first captured December 1994
- Thor: Adult male first captured April 2001
- Prima: 21-month old daughter of Big Mama first captured April 2002
- Pinto: 3-year old son of Big Mama, first captured April 2001
- Nepal: 9-month old male of Big Mama
- Café: Adult male first captured January 1998.
- Leche: Adult female first captured January 1998.
- Crema: 10-month old offspring of Leche.
- Rodeo: Adult male first captured April 1997
- Rio: Adult male first captured January 1998
- Lefty: Adult male first captured July 1997
Note: Silbo (Mamasota's male offspring from 1997) is still hanging around the periphery of the study area. We pick up his signal about once a month as he ventures back close to his natal home range.
Reproduction
REPRODUCTION TO DATE:
16 offspring; 8 male; 5 female; 3 unknown
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FAMILY UNIT PROFILE: ZONE 2
As you can probably imagine, during a long-term study like this one there are occasionally long stretches of time when nothing really "exciting" happens. The tapirs go about their business as usual and we continue to gather data, but months may go by without a birth, a death, an emigration/immigration, or the need to conduct an immobilization. These last few months have been just that sort of period of time. This is not a bad thing; it is the nature of a multiple year study. The only problem is that it doesn't make for a very interesting quarterly update, So, I have decided to use this space to give a little extra detail about the tapirs that have been part of the study. I begin with a profile of the tapirs in Zone 2 because they constitute the family unit with the longest history in the project. They also occupy the area surrounding the Sirena Ranger Station and so most tapir sightings by visitors to Corcovado are of members of this group. Forest surrounding the Sirena station  Charlie & Cantina |
The two juveniles were named Ursula and Cantina. The older of the two juveniles had lost half of her right ear, probably fighting with another tapir. If it had been a male tapir we would have named him Vincent, after van Gogh, but since it was a female we did some research and discovered that van Gogh's girlfriend was named Ursula. Danilo Leandro, the veterinarian at the Simon Bolivar Zoo in San Jose, Costa Rica, gave Cantina her name. At the time, the zoo had a male tapir named Salon ("meeting place" or "saloon" in Costa Rica) and Danilo thought he should have a counterpart in the wild with a similar name. Cantina means "bar" in Costa Rica.
Although no samples were collected for genetic analysis we believe both Ursula and Cantina were offspring of Mamasota. We base this assumption on observations of the behavior of juveniles in subsequent years. From the beginning Cantina showed no fear of me being close to her, so for 12 months I followed her around at night and documented what she ate as part of a diet and foraging behavior study.
 Mamasota 1995  Flash 1998 |
Of the original four members of the Zone 2 family unit, only Mamasota remains. Cantina and Ursula matured and moved away in 1996. We followed Ursula's radio signal for several months as she moved 14 miles northward to establish her new territory. Cantina simply disappeared one day and we are not certain of her fate. There were rumors of a small female tapir with a collar from some ranchers living on the southern edge Corcovado but her signal was never detected during our flyovers.
Flash died of unknown causes in December 2000. We did not find his body in time to do a necropsy and the only abnormalities we noted were a swollen front leg and a minor tooth infection of his upper left canine. We don't believe the canine abscess was serious enough to cause a system-wide infection, but the swollen leg could have been the result of snakebite. There is no shortage of poisonous snakes in the area and it is possible that Flash stepped on one and was bitten.
The offspring Mamasota had at her side at the time of her capture disappeared at around 4 to 5 months of age. We have no idea what happened to him (he was never named) but we assumed he was preyed upon by either a jaguar or a puma.
Between 1994 and Flash's death in 2000, the only changes in Zone 2 were the births and emigrations of Mamasota's offspring. Silbo, a male, was born in November 1997. Dedo, another male, was born 13 months later in December 1998. Pinto, the fourth male in a row born to Mamasota, was born in March 2000. Finally, in July 2001 Mamasota gave birth to her first female offspring since the study began. She was named Prima. All four of these offspring now have radiocollars and are being monitored as part of the study. Silbo is now over 5 ˝ years old. He left the Sirena area almost 2 years ago and has apparently taken up permanent residence just 3 miles away. Dedo dispersed last year to parts unknown. We have not been able to locate his signal from the air during our flyovers, but we will keep trying. At 3 years of age Pinto is expected to move out of his natal territory very soon.
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| Stomach wound |
Prima is our miracle baby. When she was just a month old she was attacked by either a jaguar or a puma and sustained severe injuries. She had several claw marks on her sides and back and a gash so deep in her belly that her stomach lining was exposed (photo right). She was not expected to live but gradually the wound closed and eventually healed completely. She is now almost 2 years old and has an appendectomy-like scar as a reminder of her close call.
When Flash died in December 2000, things got a little interesting around Sirena. Male tapirs scent-mark their territory boundaries as an advertisement to others in the area that this space is occupied. With Flash gone and the trees left unmarked five different males invaded the area, looking to take over both his territory and mating rights with Mamasota. For two months there were numerous tapir fights and chases through the forest around the station; Mamasota was seen several times with a line of male tapirs following her through the forest.
Eventually, all but one male remained in Zone 2. He was given the name Thor (Norse god of thunder since he followed Flash, who was named for his lightening bolt scar). We radiocollared Thor in April 2001 and his home range boundaries during the last 2 years coincide almost exactly with Flash's. Based on teeth impressions taken during his immobilization we figure Thor to be a fairly young adult.
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| Mamasota & Nepal |
ONGOING PROJECTS
Radiotelemetry is still the primary method for collecting data on movement patterns of our tapirs. The information is used to evaluate parameters such as activity patterns, home range size and location, habitat use, population density, and the distribution pattern of the population. Currently we are tracking 16 tapirs in the study area. Seventeen when Silbo is included.
"Influence of Large Herbivores on Understory Vegetation Structure and Diversity."
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| Juan de Dios |
"Improving Existing Methods for Assessing Baird's Tapir Populations."
This study is investigating the possibility of using track counts to accurately estimate tapir population size. Right now, track counts can only tell us if there are more or less tapirs in a certain area compared with another. The idea is to use our estimates of population density (calculated with radiotelemetry data) to formulate a correlation factor that can be applied to track count studies. Juan Valdez is also our results from this study and should be ready to defend his thesis within the next couple of months. So far the numbers look very encouraging. I believe this study will result in very useful information that will allow many researchers in other parts of the world to better estimate tapir population sizes.
ADOPT-A-CORCOVADO-TAPIR PROGRAM GOING STRONG>
WEB PAGE UPDATED AND REDESIGNED
Please check it out and let me know what you think.
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| Osa Peninsula in Southern Costa Rica Corcovado National Park outlined in yellow |