Tapirs are ancient, large-bodied herbivores whose welfare is threatened by deforestation, hunting, and vehicle strikes, with all four species classified as Endangered or Vulnerable.
Tapirs killed in vehicle strikes experience traumatic injury from the force of collision - their large body mass makes survival of high-speed strikes unlikely but slow-speed strikes may result in seriously injured animals that die over days. Bushmeat hunters kill tapirs for their substantial meat yield, typically using dogs to track and trap the slow-moving animal before it is shot. The extremely slow reproductive rate of tapirs - one offspring every two years - means that every individual lost represents years of lost reproductive potential for the population. Forest fragmentation forces tapirs to cross roads and human-dominated areas to reach sufficient food resources, dramatically increasing their exposure to the vehicle strikes and hunting that cause their greatest mortality.