The Baird’s tapir Tapirus bairdii, acknowledged as the largest terrestrial mammal in Central and South America, is also one of the region’s rarer mammals. The species is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, is an Appendix 1 Species on the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES), and less than 5,500 are estimated to be left in the wild. Further, it is expected that local overhunting and habitat fragmentation will cause continued declines in remaining populations of the Baird’s tapir. Although Baird’s tapirs were believed absent or extirpated from the Caribbean coastal forests of Nicaragua, we obtained evidence from camera traps and tracks along with local accounts that demonstrate its occurrence at multiple locations in the region. More rigorous tapir surveys will help elucidate if the tapir population of the Southern Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) of Nicaragua is viable or is merely comprised of dispersing juveniles and not sustainable. Such data will have significant conservation implications for an area undergoing rapid land-use and land-cover changes due to expanding agriculture and increasing investments in infrastructure.
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