About the possible Return of Baird‘s Tapir to El Salvador

Abstract

As it is well known, the Baird‘s tapir (Tapirus bairdii) has been declared extinct in El Salvador since 1982 by the UICN. However, two reports in 2002 and 2004 suggested the presence of the species in some Salvadorian protected areas. In both cases field biologists reported footprints of a tapir but there are no verifiable evidence to support the reports (such as photographs, plaster moulds, videos, etc). Due to the increasing interest of some Salvadorian zoologists to update and produce confident wildlife inventories, and as a result of the mentioned reports, a research team attempted to verify the possible presence of T. bairdii in the country. The first efforts were carried out in two protected areas, El Imposible and Barra de Santiago – Sector Santa Rita, where the footprints were reported in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Although this first attempt to obtain definitive evidences to establish the presence of this species in El Salvador did not confirm the mentioned reports, there is a good possibility that some individuals of T. bairdii from Guatemala are exploring Salvadorian land due to the good quality of habitat observed particularly in the El Imposible National Park. Notably, some local inhabitants in the surveyed areas attest to never have seen a tapir.