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The Mountain Tapir, Endangered 'Flagship' Species of the High Andes

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The Mountain Tapir, Endangered 'Flagship' Species of the High Andes ORYX VOL 30 NO 1 JANUARY 1996 The mountain tapir, endangered 'flagship' species of the high Andes Craig C. Downer The mountain tapir has already disappeared from parts of its range in the high Andes of South America and remaining populations are severely threatened by hunting and habitat destruction. With an estimated population of fewer than 2500 individuals, urgent measures are necessary to secure a future for the species. This paper presents an overview of the species throughout its range as well as some of the main results of the author's studies on tapir ecology. Finally, a plea is made for conservation action in Sangay National Park, which is one of the species's main strongholds. The mountain tapir: an overview throughout its range. There is limited evi- dence to indicate that it may have occurred in The mountain tapir Tapirus pinchaque, was dis- western Venezuela about 20 years ago. covered by the French naturalist Roulin near However, Venezuelan authorities indicate a Sumapaz in the eastern Andes of Colombia total absence of mountain tapir remains from (Cuvier, 1829). The species is poorly known Venezuelan territory, either from the recent or and most information has come from oc- distant past (J. Paucar, F. Bisbal, O. Linares, casional observations or captures in the wild, pers. comms). Northern Peru contains only a reports from indigenous people in the small population (Grimwood, 1969). species's range, and observations and studies In common with many montane forests in zoological parks (Cuvier, 1829; Cabrera and world-wide, those of the Andes are being Yepes, 1940; Hershkovitz, 1954; Schauenberg, rapidly destroyed, causing the decline of the 1969; Bonney and Crotty, 1979). the tapirs (Poore, 1992). The mountain tapir is Like lowland tapirs, mountain tapirs are one of the world's most critically endangered primarily solitary, herbivorous browsers. large mammals; the IUCN/SSC Tapir They prefer moist habitats and bathe fre- Specialist Group estimates its population as quently. In spite of their thick woolly fur, they fewer than 2500 individuals and that it has a depend on cloud forests for shelter from the greater than 20 per cent probability of disap- fierce storms that assail the Andes. pearing within the next 20 years (Mace and The most distinctive feature of the tapir Lande, 1991). family is the prehensile proboscis, which is employed in browsing, for orientation, bathing, and even squirting pursuers with A study of the mountain tapir water. Their sense of smell is keen (Walker, 1964) and allows the tapir to orientate at night The author first observed the mountain tapir or in dark forest. It usually moves with its in 1978 in Colombia's Las Hermosas Natural head and trunk close to the ground (D'Aulaire National Park (Downer, 1981) and since then and D'Aulaire, 1979; Janis, 1984). has surveyed the species in northern Peru, The species has been recorded between 1400 Ecuador, Colombia and western Venezuela, and 4700 m in the Andes of Colombia and listing about 20 remnant populations for the Ecuador and parts of northern Peru, but oc- IUCN Species Survival Commission and curs most frequently between 2000 and 4300 Wildlife Conservation Society. Field obser- m. However, it is rapidly disappearing vations formed a major part of the surveys ©1996FFI 45 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.14, on 30 Sep 2021 at 06:38:51, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300021384 C. DOWNER 85° 75° 65° Atlantic Ocean Sta. Marta ^<f Caracas Guajira 10° San Cristobal _ VENEZUELA I 2 Llanos Orientales 11-,©, BuenaventuraUCaJi^t *& COLOMBIA BRAZIL Amazon Basin Guayaquil' ^(Cordil. desertl^^F del Condor PERU I Alitiplano Occurrence reported in past 10 years Firm evidence for former occurrence but doubtful occurrence now Possible former occurrence but no firm evidence Reported occurrence but needs verification Figure 1. Mountain tapir distribution. 1. Perija PN, Venezuela, and Catatumbo Bari PNN, Colombia. 2. El Tama PN, Venezuela, and Tama PNN, El Cocuy PNN and Pisba PNN, Colombia. 3. Chingaza PNN, Colombia. 4. Sumapaz PNN, Colombia. 5. Cordillera Los Picachos PNN, Colombia. 6. Los Nevados PNN and Ucumari RP, Colombia. 7. Las Hermosas PNN, Colombia. 8. Nevado del Huila PNN, Colombia. 9. Purace PNN, Colombia. 10. Cueva de Los Guacharos PNN, Colombia. 11. Macizo de Tatama PNN, Colombia. 12. Farallones PNN and Munchique PNN, Colombia. 13. Galeras Flora and Fauna Sanctuary, Colombia. 14. El Angel RE, Ecuador. 15. Cotacachi Cayapas RE, Ecuador. 16. Cayambe-Coca RE, Sumaco-Napo PN and Antisana RE, Ecuador. 17. Cotopaxi PN, Ecuador. 18. Llanganatis Bosque Protector and Sangay PN, Ecuador. 19. Chimborazo Reserva de Production de Fauna, Ecuador. 20. Cajas Area Nacional de Recreacion, Ecuador. 21. Podocarpus PN, Cordillera del Condor, and Zamora province, Ecuador; Piura state (national border), Cajamarca state (national border), Tabaconas-Namballe RE and Cordillera del Condor, Peru. PN, Parque Nacional; PNN, Parque Nacional Natural; RP, Regional Park; RE, Reserve Ecologica. 46 © 1996 FFI, Oryx, 30 (1), 45-58 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.14, on 30 Sep 2021 at 06:38:51, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300021384 THE MOUNTAIN TAPIR IN THE HIGH NORTHERN ANDES and involved expeditions into parks and un- protected areas throughout the species's geo- graphical range (Figure 1). This paper summarizes some of the findings from these surveys and from an intensive study in Sangay National Park in Ecuador. Sangay National Park Sangay National Park in the eastern Andes was designated a World Heritage Site largely because of its diversity of ecosystem types Sangay Volcano, 5230 m, erupting. The Culebrillas study area frequently receives ashy fallout, killing (Fundacion Natura, 1992; UNESCO, 1993). its plants and animals, but enriching its soils for Recently expanded to nearly double its former later ecological succession (Craig C. Downer). size, the park covers more than 5180 sq km (Fundacion Natura, 1992; Figure 2). The The study area encompasses a broad, gently mountain tapir occurs at higher elevations sloping river plain which extends along the throughout the park, but is more frequent in Culebrillas River and its tributaries, including the east. Sangay may be the species's most im- the Ramos-Tambo River. The plain is covered portant stronghold. with grass and scrub while the adjacent slopes Apart from the mountain tapir, mammals of rise abruptly and are covered with dense note include the endangered spectacled bear cloud forest, giving way to bushy chaparral Tremarctos ornatus, white-tailed deer and treeless paramo at higher altitudes. Odocoileus virginianus, red brocket deer Periodic flooding allows limited meadow de- Mazama rufina, pudu Pudu mephistopheles, rab- velopment in the riverine areas but overgraz- bit Sylvilagus braziliensis and a rare endemic ing by cattle is causing stream bank erosion. subspecies of guinea-pig Cavia apertea patzelti. A combination of heavy rains, fragile ashy Pumas Felis concolor are common, particularly soils and precipitous slopes make the area in areas where their numbers have increased highly prone to earth slippage and erosion. in response to cattle invasion of the park. The Sangay Volcano is a major influence on Bird life includes the Andean condor Vultur the successional level of the biotic community gryphus, carunculated caracara Phalcobaenus and over the centuries has enriched the soils carunculatus, red-backed hawk Buteo polysoma, of this region with minerals for hundreds of sq white-collared swift Streptoprocne zonaris, km around the volcano. The soils generally sword-billed hummingbird Ensifera ensifera tend to be 'black Andean' with some rocky and the torrent duck Merganetta armata (Macey lithosols in the paramos (Macey et al., 1976). et al., 1976; Patzelt, 1989). The ecological sere is young because when Sangay erupts the lava and ash kill all her- baceous species, many shrubs and trees and Study site in Sangay National Park most animal life (Archivos Nuevo Mundo, Madrid; Lewis, 1950). The last major eruptions The main study site lies between 3300 and were in 1947 and 1988, but the latter did not 4200 m in the Rio Culebrillas sector of the park deposit ash to the west and the study site was 3 km west of the 5230-m-high Sangay Volcano unaffected. and covers approximately 6x9 km (Figure 2). The vegetation comprises cloud forest and To the west, the land is occupied almost ex- wet paramo (Ramsay, 1992), although for the clusively by pastoral Puruhaes Indians and a purposes of this study five habitat types were family hacienda. The Amazon rain forests - or identified: Andean forest, riverine meadow, their remnants - extend east to the horizon. chaparral, paramo and pampas. Montane © 1996 FFI, Oryx, 30 (1), 45-58 47 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 170.106.33.14, on 30 Sep 2021 at 06:38:51, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300021384 C. DOWNER Amazon Basin N Northern Sangay National Atillo Lakes Park (UNESCO World Heritage Park Control^ Site) I New Soutfiernguamote-Maca' s Road under construction Scale 1:378 000 I Extension of 1 cm - ~9 km = Approximate I Sangay Nat. Park. mountain tapir study area. I : K;"o Macas = Park limit Figure 2. Sangay National Park, ^ = Hut or cabin Ecuador, showing study site. Boxed area = Main study site cloud forest receives 2000^1000 mm precipi- tracking individuals, behavioural observations tation annually and has a temperature range and a survey of food plants. The first success of 6-12"C, while subalpine rain paramo re- at radio-collaring the mountain tapir was ceives 1000-2000 mm precipitation a year and achieved in the Culebrillas sector of Sangay has a temperature range of 3-6°C (Holdridge National Park.
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