MOUNTAIN TAPIR FOREVER
Community-Based Mountain Tapir Conservation
Established 2017
“A large animal needs a large area.
If you protect that area, you’re also protecting
thousands of other plants and animals.”
~ George Schaller
An initiative of:
In memory of Sheryl Todd
“We work with local communities to conserve the last refuges of the mountain tapir.”
The Mountain Tapir
Tapirus pinchaque, its scientific name refers to its mysterious and elusive nature, like a ghost of the night.
The IUCN estimates a population of only 2500 individuals for the mountain tapir and declining. This species requires the most urgent contributions from tapir advocates around the world!
©2024 Sergio Sandoval
Our Strategy
“We seek to give visibility to the communities that, often silently, contribute to the conservation of Andean ecosystems thanks to the presence of the mountain tapir in their territories. Although their efforts sustain the Andean forests and páramos that provide water for millions of people, they rarely receive any form of recognition or compensation.
We have developed a conservation model that brings science and community together to protect the mountain tapir, its ecosystems, and associated species, ensuring their survival into the future.”
“Anonymous heroes like Víctor Flórez protect páramo landscapes once cleared for cattle ranching. Today, these lands are refuges for the mountain tapir, spectacled bear, puma, frailejón, and vital water sources for downstream communities.”
News
Community Conservation Center for the Mountain Tapir
We are building the first Community Conservation Center (CCC) for the mountain tapir, an initiative that brings together local communities, science, and rural tourism.
Through training in community tourism and camera-trap monitoring, women and young people are becoming local hosts and co-researchers, creating new income opportunities while protecting this endangered species.
Community-based Conservation Centers
“We promote the creation of Community Conservation Centers (CCCs), spaces where local communities lead the protection of the mountain tapir and its habitats. To strengthen them, we build the capacities of environmental leaders in areas such as permaculture and community-based research, while also supporting the development of infrastructure that facilitates the arrival of researchers, interns, and volunteers. In this way, communities gain economic benefits while ensuring the sustainability of regional biodiversity and the conservation of the mountain tapir.”
Tapir guardians are a key part of our strategy
When people join our initiative to protect the mountain tapir, everything begins to transform in favor of the species. Our allies can participate in different ways: benefactors as volunteers, students through internships, and researchers by staying in the territory to study the tapir, its ecosystem, and the species that share its habitat