Baird's Tapir
Tapirus bairdii
The largest land mammal in Central America
The largest land mammal in Central America
Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii) belongs to the perissodactyls—the odd-toed hoofed mammals that also include horses and rhinoceroses. Perissodactyls radiated early in the Eocene (about 56–50 million years ago). Tapir-like animals appear in the fossil record soon after, and by the Oligocene–Miocene the family Tapiridae was widespread across North America and Eurasia.
Tapirs first appeared in Costa Rica as it rose from the ocean and formed the bridge between North and South America. These animals are so well-adapted to living in thick, wet rainforests that they are virtually unchanged from their ancestors millions of years ago.
As humans moved into North America, the tapirs there became extinct. The mountains of Costa Rica provided a safe refuge for these amazing animals, but colonization by Spaniards brought deforestation and increased hunting. As the forests were destroyed, tapirs had less habitat and were isolated to the most remote areas.
Twenty years ago, it was a very rare experience to see a tapir in the wild.
In 2017, Donald Varela Soto and a group of dedicated Costa Rican conservationists started working on restoring the Baird's Tapir to the area around Bijagua. This important work consisted of revegetating Tapir Valley Nature Reserve with native plants that the tapirs eat and educating the local community about tapirs and the critical role they play in making Costa Rica special.
This work has been incredibly successful. While tapir encounters were rare even just ten years ago, the number of tapirs has increased dramatically in the area and now these animals are found throughout the area, even moving into the community of Bijagua.
The people of Bijagua have embraced these new neighbors and they're now truly part of the community. This remarkable story of coexistence demonstrates how conservation, community engagement, and habitat restoration can work together to bring a species back from the brink.
Experience the best opportunities to observe Baird's Tapir at Tapir Valley Nature Reserve, where conservation meets community