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Habitat Use and Diet of Baird's Tapirs ( Tapirus bairdii ) in a Montane Cloud Forest of the Cordillera de Talamanca, Costa Rica 1
Author(s) -
Tobler Mathias W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7429.2002.tb00563.x
Subject(s) - montane ecology , transect , cloud forest , bamboo , biology , habitat , ecology , geography
Results from 24 transects showed that tapirs were less abundant in areas with higher human presence. They also preferred less steep areas, especially as browsing sites. An analysis of feces showed that fibers were the largest component (40–55%) followed by leaves (10–30%) and twigs (15%). Bamboo ( Chusquea spp.) was found in all samples and probably accounts for the high proportion of fibers. Twenty‐seven plant species were identified to be eaten by tapirs.