Call for Proposals ~ July-August 2010

Tapir Preservation Fund (TPF)

Call for Proposals, July-August 2010
$1,000.00 will be awarded in September 2010

We want to thank the family of the late Heidi Frohring for their generous donation of $1,000.00 from the W.O. and G.L. Frohring Foundation to the Tapir Preservation Fund (TPF). This donation has allowed TPF's perpetual Heidi Frohring Memorial Fund to enact the current call for proposals, which will result in the award of $1,000.00 to a tapir conservation project selected by TPF in September. We expect the successful outcome of this call for proposals to become a model for future fundraising and grants by TPF, and we look forward to receiving your proposals.

PARTICULARS

. Proposals will be accepted by e-mail to tapir@tapirback.com through July and August 2010, and must be submitted in English. The final date for submission is August 31. You may also submit any questions to this e-mail address.

. A $1,000.00 award will be granted to one selected project in September 2010.

. TPF will be allowed to use your photos and agreed-upon materials for promotion of your work and of TPF. You retain copyright to all of your materials and photos. TPF will help support your project in various ways via the Internet. Reciprocal links will be exchanged if you have a web site, blog or Facebook Page about your work.

. The Tapir Preservation Fund and the Heidi Frohring Memorial Fund will be acknowledged in any publications and materials resulting from this grant.

. A progress report with photos will be submitted within a "reasonable" period after receiving the award (report date to be determined depending on the project). The sooner TPF receives photos and progress reports, the sooner we can help promote your project.

. A final report with photos will be submitted within a "reasonable" time of completing the project (report date to be determined depending on the project).

REQUIREMENTS

1. Must be an active tapir/habitat conservation project that may have a large education component.

2. Must be

a) Ongoing and currently running, or

b) Funding needs can be completed with $1,000.00 from this grant, or
c) Your entire project can be completed with $1,000.00 from this grant, or

d) $1,000.00 from this grant will allow you to implement a segment of the project that will produce tangible results.

3. Please mention any need for permits when submitting the proposal, and note whether these permits have already been secured.

PRIORITY WILL BE GIVEN TO PROJECTS WHICH FIT THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA

1. Focus on tapirs or tapir habitat with priority given to projects encompassing conservation of additional animal and plant species and their mutual habitat

2. Sustainability

3. Ability to replicate project or results

4. Supports indigenous and/or local people in conservation efforts

5. Demonstration of coordination with other organizations and projects to reduce duplication of efforts.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and having the opportunity to help make your conservation ideas and goals a reality. Submissions may be made by e-mail.

Sheryl Todd

President

Tapir Preservation Fund

PO Box 118

Astoria, Oregon 97103 USA

tapir@tapirback.com

(503) 338-8646

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Cute Tapir, Wrong Costume

Artwork © Diana Lapshina

I just received this cute drawing from Russian tapir fan Valeri Volodin.

He wrote, "Hi Sheryl, I've just found a funny tapir picture from a Russian childrens' book about Latin America. But I think it's a Malayan tapir. Doesn't look like an American. Enjoy! Best regards, Valeri"

Tapirs appear in books so rarely (although the frequency is improving) that it's always good to see them. Valeri is right, the white saddle belongs to the Malayan tapir (from Asia), although the body coloring of that species is black, not pale brown.

Here is a link to the book, which will open as a PDF file. See also the tapir on page 2. . . .

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

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Corinna's Cat Toys Help Raise Funds for Tapir Conservation

This Malayan tapir is one of Corinna Bechko's famous cat toys. She makes the most imaginative things for cats to play with! You can find this tapir and many astonishing pieces of functional art for cats (a "cat's guide to fossils"? Amazing!) and for humans (jewelry, boxes, etc., etc.) in Corinna's Etsy shop, The Frog Bag. You can also find The Frog Bag on Facebook and by going to The Frog Bag's blog.

Yesterday Corinna and The Frog Bag donated $50.00 to the Tapir Preservation Fund. This donation came from sales in the Etsy shop, and brought The Frog Bag's donations to a total of $550.00!

Corinna has had a long-standing interest in tapirs and has been a supporter of tapir conservation long before The Frog Bag came into existence. She also contributes to tapir conservation by letting us sell her wonderful animal jewelry in Tapir and Friends Animal Store online. Here you can find tapirs and other critters, too.

Thanks, Corinna! And thanks to those who purchase and enjoy your wonderful creations!

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

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Contribution Helps Tapirs in Belize

Belize Zoo ~ June 1, 2010

Sharon Matola with baby Baird's tapir

Today we are excited to be sending a donation of $500.00 from David F. to The Belize Zoo. When Sharon learned about the donation, she sent us this photo of herself with one of the zoo's most recent residents, an adorable baby Baird's tapir. The zoo accepts only orphaned or damaged animals, and although this tapir has lost his biological mother, he now has a loving home as an ambassador for wildlife in the Belize Zoo. He may just become the hero of a children's story in the coming months. It would not be the first time Sharon has featured tapirs and the other wild animals of Belize in stories that have made a huge and continuing impact on the way Belizeans and visitors to Belize understand and appreciate the ecology of this small, Central American country.

David's donation will help Sharon pay for a recent project - the completion of a film about the important role that tapirs and other animals of the forests play, standing and healthy, in decreasing the negative impacts of climate change.

Thank you, David. Thank you, Sharon. We are happy to forward 100% of David's donation to help make this happen.

Donations for the important work of the Belize Zoo can be made through the Tapir Preservation Fund or through the Belize's Zoo's web site.

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

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Sleeping Tapirs

Singapore Zoo ~ March 23, 2008

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)

Photos by Annemarie Hasnain

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Tapir Tongue

Los Angeles Zoo ~ March 26, 2010

Mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque)

Photos by Annemarie Hasnain

In this unusual photo, the tapir's tongue is rippled like a washboard. I can't do that, can you? The next two photos are also of a mountain tapir at the L.A. Zoo, where this species has been kept since the late 1960s.

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Browsing

Singapore Zoo ~ June 21, 2009

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)

Photo by Annemarie Hasnain

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A Friendly Baird's Tapir at La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center

La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center, Costa Rica ~ June 21, 2009

Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii)

Photos by Annemarie Hasnain

Annemarie wrote: "I've attached photos of a tapir we met at La Marina Wildlife Rescue Center in Costa Rica. He/She saw us and came across his enclosure to hang out with us. He was so sweet and curious and just seemed to enjoy checking us out as much as we enjoyed checking him out. It was a very special part of the trip!"

Check out this link to the tapir page at the rescue center and enjoy the photos. Maybe you will be the next volunteer!

Please e-mail your photos and text if you would like to see them on this blog.

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A Shelf of Tapir Art

Astoria, Oregon ~ October 21, 2001

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Reflections in a Tapir's Eye

Seattle, Washington ~ May 5, 2008

Woodland Park Zoo

Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)

I'm posting these photos today to take part in James's Weekend Reflections, but I've been meaning to post them for some time. It's not often that you get to see a tapir eye this closely. The glass-fronted enclosure allows you to see the tapirs very close much of the time. The white blobs on the right side of the second photo are unfocused reflections of a "T is for Tapir" t-shirt, white on black, although the tapir on the shirt is a different species (Baird's tapir) from the one in the photos above (Malayan tapir).

I also find it so strange and somehow both comforting and frightening to look at an animal's eye this closely. How can we think of harming, neglecting, killing, or eradicating an animal who looks out of something that reminds us so much of our own eyes? We are kindred. How can we think otherwise?

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Remembering Heidi

Heidi Frohring

April 6, 1967 - May 1, 2005

Memorial site / Memorial page

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Visit to Dudley Zoo

Click here for the article

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Bones of a Lowland Tapir's Foot

Copyright Editorial Kapellusz, S.A.

Buenos Aires, 1966

Click to image to enlarge

Lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

Left forefoot (left) and rear foot (right)

Thanks to a query about the bones of a tapir's feet, I found an old poster in my archives and photographed part of it. I'll put the rest of the poster online when I get a chance. Note that the feet of the four tapir species may show differences, as may the feet of individual animals.

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Three Photos from France to Help Raise Awareness for World Tapir Day, 2010

Photos by MJP

(Mr and Msse POTEAUX ~ e Mans, FRANCE)

CERZA Zoo Park in Hermival-les-Vaux, Calvados, Normandy

Three wonderful tapir photos arrived by e-mail today with the message that we could use them on the site to help publicize World Tapir Day, 2010.

Please enjoy the photos and follow the link to learn more about World Tapir Day and take part in the activities and fundraising! And, many thanks to you in Le Mans. . . .

The Poteaux family sponsors these lovely tapirs and visits them often.

Merci infiniment des belles photos!

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Jan 10, 2010: Snow Tapir!

By David Beilby

Originally posted on "Tapirs" Google group

January 10, 2010

David wrote:

Here in the UK we have had much more snow than we have most winters. My son Jonathan decided to fashion this creation which is sadly even more endangered than the real thing.

Hopefully this will brighten up your winter's day!

Best Regards,

David Beilby

---

Reply by Sheryl:

Hey, I even see a carrot! Thanks so much for posting this! We're having a cold winter, too, but no snow yet in Astoria, Oregon. Lots of rain, and no snow tapirs! In fact, this may be a first. I've seen a sandcastle tapir done by Sally Woodcock. It seems you English are advanced when it comes to these creations. . . .

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Tapir Preservation Fund (TPF) ~ Catching up on donations and funding ~ What have we been doing?

A recent e-mail from Caitlin gave me the excuse I needed to post some numbers and an explanation:

December 16, 2009

Dear Caitlin,

Thank you for asking what we've been doing in 2009, since the Tapir Gallery Web site has not been updated recently. It seems that the last thing I get around to is putting current info on the site. This is truly unfortunate, and it should be done regularly. We've been keeping busy over here, as you'll see in a minute. I kept looking for a good format for donation and disbursement info on the site, and came up with several formats that didn't really work. The format is hard to understand and is incomplete. At least I should put it on the info on the blog, and I do have some clarity for public announcements in 2010. For now, here it is what I have for the past four years.

None of the years addressed on the web site as it is right now reflects the whole picture. Here are the actual totals going back to 2006:

2006

. Contributions income: $3,452

. Donations from TPF to the field: $2,700

The difference was used by the Tapir Preservation Fund internally.

2007

. Contributions income: $10,415

. Donations from us to the field: $19,492

The difference was paid from our gift shop sales.

2008

. Contributions income: $4,972

. Donations from TPF to the field: $17,467

The difference was paid from our gift shop sales.

2009 Year to Date (Dec 16)

. Contributions income: $3,261

. Donations to the field: $2,951

We still have money to send to the field, see below.

2009's donations went to:

. Wilson Novarino (Sumatra, Asian tapir)

. Sergio Sandoval (Colombia, Mountain tapir genetics)

. Kendra Bauer (USA/Costa Rica, Baird's tapir)

We will soon be sending over $1,000 to two projects, one of which is still to be determined.

What we've been doing with our time this year is that we've been improving the gift shop. We installed a new shopping cart to be up with the times (and our old one was discontinued by the credit card company), and that was a huge effort getting everything to work right. We've been upgrading the store in many ways and trying to make ends meet in the slow economy. Hopefully this next year I'll have time to work more on the tapir web site and also work more with various tapir colleagues working in the field. I have ideas for new fundraising projects, and I may think about bringing back Club Tapir once the economy begins to recover. It became more time-consuming than it was worth for the amount we collected in donations.

Many thanks to all of you who have helped with your ideas, photos, and donations!

Here's to a creative, productive, and prosperous 2010 for everyone. . . .

All the best,

Sheryl

Is this too cute? Baby Malayan tapir photos from Antwerp Zoo . . .

These are some of the best tapir photos I've ever seen. They were sent recently by Inge, taken at the zoo in Antwerp, Belgium. They're so striking, so nicely photographed, I'll just let them speak for themselves! (Thank you, Inge!!!) If you use them other than for your own enjoyment or as a school project, please, please credit the photographer. If you need more information, contact me at sheryl@tapirback.com.

Ten special mountain tapirs

Special Note

This piece was made in Colombia for the Tapir Preservation Fund by researcher/artist Sergio Sandoval. We have only 10 available as I write this on September 25, 2009. WE PROBABLY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET ANY MORE due to new laws about testing of paint and plastics on any item that could be construed as a child's toy. Sergio would be happy to make more tapirs for us, but we don't know how Customs will view this item if we were to import them. We could call them a collector's item or figurine, but if the Customs Department believes they could be considered a toy suitable for a child 12 or under (and they are made of a durable plastic material), each shipment would be required to enter the country with a certificate of testing that would cost about $1800.00. The actual materials are safe, and the paint is a non-toxic paint made in the U.S. We imported these tapirs before testing was required. Unfortunately, we don't think we will be able to do it again. We do expect to continue to import wood carvings and other art from tapir range countries including Colombia - items that are clearly not for use by children.

Your purchase helps us support tapir conservation in the field.

Our Mountain Tapir Replica/Figurine

This realistic-looking mountain tapir is made of strong resin (you would almost think it was ceramic) and it stands firmly on its 14-toed feet. It is black in color with white highlights along the ears and around the mouth. "Mamadanta" (mother tapir) is 4 1/4 inches long and 2 3/8 inches tall. She shows distinctive and accurate detail of the fur and toes, as she was made by Tapir Specialist Sergio Sandoval of Colombia. Our mountain tapir figurine has an affectionate expression and makes an excellent gift or toy for children or adults and could work well for school show-and-tell or as a school science project. It may also become a valued item in anyone's tapir or animal collection. Check out our other tapir toys and gifts.

About Mountain Tapirs

The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) is the rarest of all the tapir species with only about 2,500 left in the world. It is also the smallest in size and the only one that lives outside of tropical rainforests. It ranges high in the Andes of South America, exclusively in Colombia, Ecaudor and Northern Peru, where it spends long solitary hours, sleeping or nibbling fruits and leaves. The adult mountain tapir, called "danta" in Colombia, weighs about 300-500 pounds, has a woolly coat and white along its ear tips and around its mouth. Like other tapirs, it has a flexible nose or proboscis. It has four toes on the front feet and three toes on the back feet. The mountain tapir has been driven nearly into extinction by habitat loss and wanton hunting. Successful breeding programs exist at the Los Angeles Zoo and Colorado Springs' Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.

Origami: A folded paper tapir

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12043525@N04/3892136850/

What harm can be done by one road through "Eden"?

What harm is one little road? Read on . . .

http://www.physorg.com/news171814103.html