The Tapir killed by polythene - are you the killer?

It’s school holidays again where the zoo becomes the centre point of attraction for families to have a day out. Feeding the animals and bringing polythene into the zoo have already caused harm to many animals, but sadly many visitors continue committing this ‘crime’ by polluting the environment by not putting polythene paper and bags into the waste/dustbins. ZooLander this week focuses on the loss of an animal two years ago due to negligence -- and callous disregard of the well-being of an animal by a visitor. The zoo had a bizarre looking animal. It was like an over sized pig with an elongated proboscis resembling that of an elephant. Some wondered if it was a kind of ant-eater or a hippopotamus. But it was in fact a tapir that lives in the Amazonian rainforests in America. In fact, the tapir’s closest relatives are the other odd-toed ungulates -- including horses and rhinoceroses.

The tapir came to the Dehiwala Zoo in 2001, from a Belgium zoo, though its natural home range is the American forests in the Amazonian Forest Range. It was also named as Brazilian Tapir -- which is active at night and spends the day resting in thick vegetation.

Species of tapirs

Tapirs usually live near waterways and are known to be good swimmers. When frightened, they plunge into the water. Tapirs are even known to dive into shallow waters in order to feed on the lush aquatic plants. Four species of the tapir have been recorded from different parts of the world – namely, the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, the Baird’s Tapir and the Mountain Tapir. The tapir is a herbivore and feeds on grass and leaves. Naturally, it spends most of its time foraging for food. Due to its large size, the tapir has only a few natural predators in the natural range but it is known to be preyed upon by wild cats such as tigers, jaguars and cougars -- as well as large reptiles like crocodiles and anacondas. Yet, man is believed to be the worst predator of the tapir as these animals have been hunted for food and even domesticated in some areas. They are threatened due to habitat loss and human activities, and all tapirs are classified as either endangered or vulnerable.

The tapir’s most special feature is its long, flexible ‘nose.’ It is similar to a small trunk of an elephant and the tapir uses this prehensile snout to grab leaves and branches from bushes and low trees, the way elephants use their trunk. This is called a proboscis and its length varies among the various species according to zoologists. It is said that Malayan Tapirs have the longest snouts and the Brazilian Tapirs the shortest. The tapir is also known to smell the air. This is done by raising their proboscis and showing their teeth so as to detect scents. This is similar to bulls sniffing for signs of other males or females in the area and the tapir at the Dehiwala zoo too had displayed these mannerisms -- although there were no female tapirs around.

Shy, yet defensive
It is said that the tapirs are solitary animals, the exception being during the mating season. Tapirs are also known to be shy – hence they do not interact with humans, making it difficult to study them. However, tapirs are known to defend themselves using their powerful jaws, and on rare occasions, are known to attack humans. It is said that the tapirs can also communicate in a number of ways. A high-pitched whistle is one of the most common sounds that a tapir makes – as if mimicking brakes of a car screeching to a stop. A snort accompanied by foot stamping usually means the tapir is preparing to defend itself.

Do NOT Feed Zoo Animals

The tapir in the Dehiwala zoo was a special attraction, but many had missed it as its den was located in a far corner of the zoo, and at a lower elevation. But sadly, the lone tapir died in September 2009 as it had swallowed large amounts of polythene. This was revealed at the post mortem that was conducted to ascertain the cause of death.

The staff at the zoo are of the view that the public carelessly throw bio non-degradable material around – lunch sheets and polythene bags, which when consumed by animals have led to their death, albeit slowly. Many other animals too have fallen prey to polythene that visitors do not think twice about when discarding – deer, hippopotamus, areamong other animals that have died at the Dehiwala zoo after consuming polythene, as revealed by the post mortems that were conducted. Some hippos have swallowed coins as well, again revealed by post mortems. The authorities at the zoo believe that visitors throw coins into the open mouths of animals, considering it a sport, little realizing that such actions are very harmful -- and can lead to the death of animals that swallow them.

Deplorable behaviour

It has been reported that some visitors also stoop to spitting on animals – either in fun or in anger. Whatever the reason, such actions are deplorable and the authorities are at a loss as to how to cope with such behaviour on the part of the general public that visits the zoo, ostensibly to view the animals. While this number that indulges in such bad behaviour is minimal, even one violation of an animal’s rights cannot be condoned. The authorities request the thousands of daily visitors at present (in view of the holidays) refrain from causing any harm to the animals and also desist from feeding them or teasing them.

Published on LakbimaNews on 14.08.2011 http://www.lakbimanews.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2444:the-tapir-killed-by-polythene-are-you-the-killer&catid=41:mag&Itemid=12