In the Atlantic Forest, the lowland tapir is at risk of extinction

[Still Waters]

Lowland tapir populations in the Atlantic Forest in South America are at risk of almost complete disappearance, scientists have estimated. Weighing up to 250 kg, the animal can adapt to most habitats in South America—but its populations continue to decline across its range.

Today, its survival is seriously threatened: it can be found in just 1.78% of its original distributional range in the Atlantic Forest biome, which covers parts of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. The main long-term threat to its well-being is population isolation, as hunting and highways keep populations away from each other.

Urgent measures need to be taken to connect isolated populations and ensure the long-term conservation of tapirs, warn the authors of a new study on the distribution and conservation status of lowland tapirs in the South American Atlantic Forest, published in the open-access journal Neotropical Biology and Conservation.

https://phys.org/news/2022-01-atlantic-forest-lowland-tapir-extinction.html

https://neotropical.pensoft.net/article/71867/