Tapirs — the largest land mammals of the Americas — face welfare threats from habitat loss, hunting, and road strikes that push all four species toward extinction.
Tapirs face welfare harms both from acute causes like road strikes and hunting, and from the chronic stress of living in increasingly fragmented habitats. Road strikes cause traumatic injuries that are often fatal or leave surviving animals permanently impaired. Hunting for bushmeat, while often illegal, removes individuals from already small populations. In fragmented landscapes, tapirs struggle to find adequate food and mates, experiencing the chronic stress of habitat inadequacy. Protecting large connected forest reserves and reducing road mortality through wildlife crossings are the most effective welfare interventions for tapirs.