Specialists placed a collar that emits global positioning signals and records videos, which will serve to understand the behavior of the animal.
Eight people went on an excursion in order to locate and catch an Andean tapir in the area of influence of the Cajas National Park, Cuenca, Azuay.
After twelve days of going into the forest, false alarms and other complications typical of geography, the team managed to capture a specimen of Tapirus pinchaque.
“Yesterday, finally, after 12 very hard field days, and under extreme cloud forest conditions, we managed to capture and tag with a satellite collar an Andean tapir, named Mijín. This specimen lives in the southwestern part of Ecuador, which makes it exceptional, since its population is the only one that lives on this side of South America, with such a restricted range of distribution ”, communicated the good news the biologist Armando Castellanos, of the Foundation Andean Bear, who promotes the Great Mammals of Ecuador project, last Sunday.
This is a great event, according to the experts consulted, since it is the first time in history that a necklace of this type has been placed on an Andean tapir from the West, since its presence is more noticeable in eastern areas. This species that feeds on leaves, branches, young shoots and fruits, lives in the Andes, in northern Colombia, Ecuador and northwestern Peru, between 1,200 and 4,700 meters of altitude, according to the specialized ecology portal of the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE).
“The project will help us to know how they move in the territory, what their movements are like and at the end of the useful life of the collar to understand which are the living areas of this species that it is using in the territory. This tool would serve in the future to be able to clarify the conservation of the areas that are outside the Cajas National Park, areas that are important for water, ecosystem services, but that are not within any category of conservation by the Ministry of the Environment ” , explains Francisco Sánchez, technical analyst of the Cuenca Telecommunications, Potable Water, Sewerage and Sanitation Company (EP Stage).
They kill a jaguar in Morona Santiago; Ministry of the Environment filed a complaint
This monitoring is carried out with the coordination of several institutions and international cooperation: the Andean Bear Foundation, EP Stage, the National Biodiversity Institute (proposed agreement to use collars donated by German cooperation).
“The tapir is in danger of extinction due to hunting in several places, here in Cajas it is relatively protected (the tapir), since it lives in places with a steep slope that makes access difficult for hunters,” says Castellanos.
“Once the new protected area is created in Galapagos, more scientific research is needed in the area,” says director of the Charles Darwin Foundation.
The collar is equipped with technology that broadcasts its location every two hours and a camcorder. The shelf life is approximately five years. Sánchez explains that before the battery runs out, a mechanism is activated to detach itself from the animal’s neck and emit a signal so that it can be located.
“He was sedated with a tranquilizer dart and blood samples were taken, hair to do a genetic study, fecal matter, ticks. The state of health was seen, marks from bear attacks -because they are prey to spectacled bears-, all this was identified. The collar was turned on and then waited for the animal to wake up. Then he got up and began, by himself, to enter the forest, “adds the biologist from Etapa EP.
The Andean Bear Foundation carries out this type of monitoring since 2010. In 2013, the first sighting of an Andean tapir was recorded in a western area of the Ecuadorian Andes after 100 years, according to experts, who hope that with the findings of the project in In execution, the protected areas are increased for the benefit of the flora, fauna and nearby populations. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
