Africam Safari Africam Safari News

Africam Safari has greatly benefited from being a member of the AZA

 

They are going to be AZAs saving grace when it comes African Elephants

 

Yes, true, there is definitely a skewed sex ratio, but obtaining females is not an insurmountable problem.

I think the overriding issue is perhaps the lack of a will to do so.

 

Since tapirs are vulnerable to equine diseases their import into Mexico is extremely difficult.

 

But given the pressures on wild tapir populations in Mexico which will continue to grow I do think establishing this native species ex-situ should be a priority being actively sought out by zoos in the country.

 

What is the current status of Baird's tapir in Mexico itself? How large is the wild population?

 

@Kifaru Bwana I'll let Carlos answer the question.

But I'll just say this is a species that is not doing well at all in either Mexicor or Central America.

Lots of anthropogenic pressures are driving its decline like habitat destruction / fragmentation, overhunting / bushmeat, deaths on roads, probably disease and of course the emerging threat of climate change which modelling suggests will hit the tapir very hard in the near future.

 

I was "involved" with the Tapir Specialist Group/IUCN previously and know the precarious status of the species in Meso Americas. Unfortunately, not doing well in Mexico ..., surprised by a bit?

 

I'm pleasantly suprised that you were involved (in what capacity was this?) with the IUCN tapir specialist group but not suprised about the plight of the tapir.

 

Baird s tapir are present in Mexico in protected areas in Chiapas, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Outside of these areas the animal has disappeared due tro overhunting and habitat destruction. The distribution is now quite fragmented. The largest population is in the Selva Lacandona of Chiapas. Illegal hunting still persists. A colleague from the University told me that when a tapir moves out from a protected area it is immediately hunted.
The latest estimate is that there are 1500 wild tapirs in Mexico, which sounds very optimistic to me. So the tapir really need a strong ex situ. conservation program and zoo births like the one at Africam Safari are needed.

 

Have to say it also seems over optimistic to me too and even if is an accurate estimation of the current population size this will continue to drop in response to anthropogenic stressors across the next decade.

 

Recibe Zoológico de León a ‘Paquita’ la tapir
Africam Safari has sent a female baird’s tapir named Paquita to Leon zoo where she will be paired with Scooter the famous tapir who appeared in the Mel Gibson movie Apocalypto. Very good news for tapirs in mexican zoos. By the way, Scooter has a very nice enclosure that was paid for by Mel Gibson to repay the tapir for his film career.
Es estrella de cine tapir del Zoo León

 

Does anyone have any information on African lion brothers Christos, Mikalos, and Athanaisi? I’m trying to build their father’s family tree, and I know they moved to Africam Safari in 2010 from Zoo Atlanta. Are these still their names? Are they still alive? Have they had cubs, and who were their mates? Anything helps! Thank you!