Open AccessRoadkills of Lowland Tapir Tapirus terrestris (Mammalia: Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) in one of its last refuges in the Atlantic Forest
Author(s) -
Áureo Banhos dos Santos,
Andressa Gatti,
Marcelo Renan de Deus Santos,
Leonardo Merçon,
Ilka Westermeyer,
Natália Carneiro Ardente,
Luís Gonzaga,
Lucas Mendes Barreto,
Lucas Damásio,
Tomas Lima Rocha,
Vítor Roberto Schettino,
Renata Valls,
Helena Godoy Bergallo,
Marcos Vinicius Freitas Silva,
Athelson Stefa Bittencourt,
Danielle de Oliveira Moreira,
Ana Carolina SrbekAraujo
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of threatened taxa
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.264
H-Index - 8
eISSN - 0974-7907
pISSN - 0974-7893
DOI - 10.11609/jott.6901.13.13.19921-19929
Subject(s) - threatened species , geography , wildlife corridor , ecology , fishery , habitat , biology
Highways limit the movement and dispersion of wild animals and contribute to their loss due to roadkills, leading to the isolation and decline of populations, increasing the risk of local extinction. The Lowland Tapir Tapirus terrestris is the largest neotropical herbivore-frugivore, and despite its wide distribution in South America it is threatened with extinction. In this study we report six roadkill events of tapirs between 2014 and 2019 in a section of a federal highway crossing the mosaic of Atlantic Forest reserves called Sooretama, one of the last tapir refuges in southeastern Brazil. The traffic in this area is heavy with inadequate speed control, while exotic fruit trees growing along the highway attract wild animals. Water drainage tunnels serve as passageways for some species, including tapirs. However, the tunnels located under the highway are not continuously maintained, reducing its effectiveness. The loss of at least one tapir per year can have serious long-term consequences for one of the last viable lowland tapir populations in the entire Atlantic Forest. Emergency measures are required to avoid vehicle-tapir collisions.