BBC Wildlife - UK 2020-07)

July 2020

WILDNEWS

Dr PatríciaMedici

WhitleyGoldAward 2020

winnerDrPatríciaMedici

leadsthelargestlowland

tapirstudyintheworld

andplanstoexpandher

work to the Amazon.

Chair of the IUCN/SSC Tapir Specialist Group

MEET THE SCIENTIST

W

henPatrícia

Medici

co-founded

Brazil's

Institutefor

Ecological

Research(IPÊ)in1995,theNGO’s

focuswasspeciesconservation–

particularlyanimalsaboutwhich

peopleknewverylittle:“I choseto

studythelargestlandmammalin

SouthAmerica– thelowlandtapir.”

Theconservationistadmitsshe

onlystartedtofallinlovewiththe

speciesafterlearningmoreaboutit.

“Thesegardenersoftheforestare

superimportantastheyplaya key

roleinshapingandmaintainingthe

ecosystembydispersingseeds– 50

percentoftheirdietis nativefruits.”

Theelusiveherbivoresaretrickyto

studybut,after 25 yearsofworking

acrosstheAtlanticForest,Pantanal

andCerradoecosystems,Medici

hasdiscoveredthatthesolitary

lowlandtapirhasa largeareaofuse,

equivalentto 500 footballfields.

“Itneedsthisrangetofindfood,

waterandshelter,”she

says.“Ifyouconserve

a lowlandtapir

population,you

areconserving

hugechunks

ofhabitat,

whichbenefits

otheranimals

and plants.”

aredeforestationandhabitat

fragmentation;poachingand

hunting;pesticideusedinlarge-scale

agriculture;androadtraffic.Medici’s

conservationstrategyis toidentify,

quantifyandmitigatetheknown

threat.SomeofTheLowlandTapir

ConservationInitiative’sgreatest

successesincludereducingtapir

roadkillwithspeedcamerasand

educationalsigns,andraisingthe

flagaboutpesticidecontamination,

afterdiscoveringchemicalsintapirs.

Medici’s£60,000GoldAward

fromtheWhitleyFundfor

Naturewillbeusedtostudyand

reducethreatstotapirsinthe

Amazon,alongthesouthernarc

ofdeforestationinMatoGrosso

andParastates.“Infourselected

areas,weplantofocusonlarge-

scaleagricultureandpesticides;

forestmanagementcombinedwith

logging;mining;andpalmoil,”she

says.Thelattertwoarethreatsthat

theprojecthasnotresearchedbefore.

“Thetimingcouldnotbemore

appropriate,giventhecurrent

politicalsituationinthecountry.

Takingactionnowis particularly

importanttoavoidwildlifeand

climate emergencies.”Jo Price

Aerstudyingpathways

usedbytapirsinAtlantic

Forest,webuiltthelargest

wildlife corridor in Brazil.

S

T

Medici’sprojectincludes

mappingroutesusedbytapirs

andreforestingthesecorridorsto

connectfragmentedareasofforest

andtackleclimatechange.“After

studyingpathwaysusedbytapirsin

AtlanticForest,webuiltthelargest

wildlifecorridorinBrazil,withthe

participationoflocalcommunities.”

Adoptingagroforestry

practices

sparkedpeople’s

interestandthis

evolvedintoall

kindsofrelationships

• developing
  sustainable
  businessesand
  educatingpeople
  abouttheimportance
  oftheenvironment.
  Themainthreatsto
  lowlandtapirs in Brazil

Patricia portrait: Liana John/Whitley Awards 2020; tapir (x2): Joao Marcos Rosa/Whitley Awards 2020

Medicidevelopedher

researchworkwith

tapirs in the Pantanal.

WhitleyFund

forNature:

whitleyaward.

org; IPÊ:

ipe.org.br/en

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