Tapirs are ancient herbivores and important seed dispersers whose populations are collapsing across South America and Southeast Asia. Their welfare depends on urgent habitat protection and anti-poaching enforcement.
Tapirs are sensitive, shy animals that experience significant stress from human disturbance, habitat loss, and confinement. In fragmented habitats, individuals must navigate dangerous roads and agricultural areas to find food and mates, resulting in stress, injury, and death. Captive tapirs can live long and appear content when given space, mud wallows, and enrichment, but roadside zoos frequently hold them in barren concrete enclosures that cause stereotypic behaviour and health problems.