World Tapir Day, but there is little to celebrate. Too often, these mammals are victims of traffic accidents and poaching

April 27 is World Tapir Day, but there is little to celebrate. These mammals from Asia are prone to traffic accidents and poaching.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

April 27 is World Tapir Day. Unfortunately, there is very little to celebrate: they too are "attapirati", including poaching, deforestation and state accidents.

The tapir represents a fundamental species in the forest ecosystem and, thanks to its long journeys and herbivorous feeding, it acts as a natural fertilizer, so much so that it is considered the "gardener of the forest". In recent decades, however, the population of these ancient mammals has undergone a sharp reduction.

From Kuala Lumpur comes the government's exhortation to report illegal hunting activities that could endanger Malaysian fauna, in particular the Asian tapir, whose scientific name is “tapirus indicus”. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah, said it was important to ensure that the Malayan tapir does not face the same sad fate as the Sumatran rhino (the last one, a 25-year-old female, has died. at the end of last year on the island of Borneo).

“The main threats to the Malayan tapir, known as tenuk, cipan, badak tampung, badak tuli and badak murai, are habitat loss, forest fragmentation, land use change. Tapirs often become victims, ending up in traps created by wildlife poachers. We must learn from the mistakes of the past and continue to intensify our efforts to ensure that the problem of extinction does not happen again ”.

the ministry communicated through the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Malaysian parliamentarian Shamsul Anuar said that from January to March of this year, 10 cases of tapirs killed by vehicles have already been recorded.

“During the period 2013-2019, a total of 84 tapirs were killed in road accidents. This trend is even more alarming if we consider the increase in the number of cases registered in the first three months of this year "

he said.

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Various initiatives have been taken in Malaysia to reduce road accidents, such as the installation of yellow cross bars and signs indicating the presence of wild animals in the area. Additionally, the state is committed to creating protected areas and developing a Malayan Tapir Conservation Action Plan (MaTCAP) to improve tapir management in the country.

"We also pay attention to collaboration programs with various local and foreign agencies for research on the ecology, behavior, nutrition, reproduction and genetics of the tapir"

Shamsul Anuar specified.

As always, it is humans who represent the greatest threat to animals. We hope that these funny and precious mammals can live better times, safe from accidents and the cruelty of poachers.

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