Pond use and relative abundance of Tapirus bairdii in the Calakmul region, Campeche, Mexico

A higher relative abundance of Central American tapirs (Tapirus bairdii) was found in the ejido Nuevo Becal (NB), a disturbed area with human activities, compared to the protected Calakmul Biosphere Reserve (RBC). The study, conducted using camera traps at nine water holes in each site from 2014, revealed that tapirs visited water holes more frequently and with shorter latency periods in NB than in RBC. The relative abundance was 37.0 tapir registrations per 1,000 camera-traps/nights in NB versus 6.2 in RBC, suggesting that water bodies are critical for tapir conservation, even in areas with human disturbance where hunting does not occur. The findings highlight NB as a priority area for tapir conservation in Mexico, indicating that non-hunting human activities may not significantly impact tapir populations.

Sandoval-Serés, E., Reyna-Hurtado, R., Briceño-Méndez, M., & De La Cerda-Vega, R. (2016). Pond use and relative abundance of Tapirus bairdii in the Calakmul region, Campeche, Mexico. Therya, 7(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.12933/therya-16-349