Diet of Tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) Introduced in a Salt Marsh Area of the Baixada do Massiambu, State Park of the Serra do Tabuleiro – Santa Catarina, South of Brazil

Abstract

A survey on the food items from salt marsh vegetation in the diet of the tapir was conducted in the Baixada do Massiambu, on the Serra do Tabuleiro State Park. From March to October 2004, eight animals, males and females of different ages kept in semi-captivity in a 160 ha area, were studied by means of direct observations and fecal analyses. Each consumed plant species was collected and identified, the consumed plant part marked, and each feeding event for each species counted. Eighty-two consumption events, from 32 species and 22 families of plants, were recorded. The consumed plant parts were leaves, small stems, flowers, bracts and ripe and unripe fruits. The most sought after plant parts were leaves and stems, followed by flowers and fruits. The most consumed plants were basically those of the herbaceous and shrubbery orders. Predominantly, seeds of Butiá (Butiá capitata) and Jerivá (Arecastrum romanzoffianum) were found in the faeces. Tapirs feed on a great diversity of plant parts and species, thus evidencing, from the point of view of their diet, great plasticity in adaptation to the salt marsh area.