The mountain tapir's comeback, a once forgotten species is now the face of the new Peruvian sol coin

Posted on 19 abril 2018

In Peru, several studies indicate that less than 400 individuals remain. Since 2014, WWF Peru and SERNANP have been working together to conserve this species, which is in danger of extinction.

In Peru, several studies indicate that less than 400 individuals remain.
Since 2014, WWF Peru and SERNANP have been working together to conserve this species, which is in danger of extinction.

Between the 1400 and 4800 meters above sea level inhabits a peculiar mammal, sporting a coarse coat of a coppery-coffee color, an extraordinary snout legacy of over 55 million years of evolution when its ancestor still walked through the marshes and humid forests of the North America and Europe, until it ventured south three million years ago, where it stayed forever, in the fog and moorland of the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador and Northern Peru. The unique Andean tapir has evoked human mysticism and unfounded fears among humans, causing it to be in danger of extinction. Today, this mammal- until recently condemned to oblivion- recovers prominence in the Peruvian coins of a sol, the visible face behind the multiple efforts made by organizations such as WWF together with the National Service of Natural Protected Areas by the State (Sernanp) to recover this species.
If we went back 20 million years, the Andean tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) of then would look almost exactly like today's; this survivor is almost a "living fossil", memory of ancient times. Its true name derives from the Latin Turpi, while pinchaque refers to a mythical creature that inhabited the Andean regions. However, it is sadly known among some locals as "black beast". Although harmless, its large size has earned it this undeserved nickname. With a weight that ranges between 150 and 250 kilos and more than one meter in height, it feeds on shrubs and grasses.
Poaching for trade or traditional medicine, the destruction of their habitat by deforestation for agriculture, livestock or mining have depleted this species, with fewer than 2,500 individuals documented within a range of 3,000 km2 of available habitat, of which fewer than 400 would be found in Peru. Although the figures vary, all conclude that it is in danger of extinction, appearing even in the red list of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Its extinction would not only be a crime against this emblematic species, but it would impact the ecosystem services, provided by the ecosystems where this species lives, such as water production and soil stability, crucial for human beings.
"The mountain tapir plays an important role as an 'architect' of the forest, scattering seeds and eating fresh shoots of plants. If the mountain tapir does not exist, the moorland and montane forest ecosystem would suffer the loss of a key species in its maintenance, and this, in turn, would affect neighboring human populations that depend on the ecosystem services provided by the forest, for example, the provision of water, and many others," says José Luis Mena, Sciences Director of WWF Peru.
Since 2014, WWF and SERNANP have been working together on a program for the conservation of this species, studying its threats and the importance it plays in the ecosystems of moorland and montane forests within the Tabaconas Namballe National Sanctuary (Cajamarca).
"Thanks to the work conducted with trap cameras in the Sanctuary, we have four years of data for the conservation of the mountain tapir. This has been the input for the development of a monitoring plan ", emphasizes Mena.
The last effort to portray the danger that this species faces was in the hands of an unexpected actor; the Central Reserve Bank, and it consisted in coining the new one sol coin with its image, for which it had the technical support of WWF. This is, perhaps, the greatest effort for Peruvians to become acquainted with this extraordinary mammal, whose population could decrease by more than 50% in the following decades, unless we take the necessary conservation actions. The new currency is a first step, as well as informing and involving the population in this way.

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