A bizarre accident happened at the Phillip Goldson International yesterday night when a jet collided with a tapir at the end of the main runway. At
about 7:30, an Amerijet 727 Cargo jet was taking off when it hit the tapir just before it was about to take flight. The tapir was killed and the jet's
front wheel was badly damaged. It had to taxi back to the apron for repairs – which caused a delay of a few hours. Now you might ask, what's a tapir
doing on the runway? But, the Belize District – especially this area – is well known for Tapirs – and they are often seen crossing the Boom road which
is a just a few miles from the airport. Celso Poot – who's been doing community education about tapir's for 20 years – says there must be greater
awareness of the tapirs which are all around us:…
Celso Poot - Zoologist, Belize Zoo
"The whole Burrell Boom, Ladyville area has high incidents of tapir vehicles collisions; this is tapir being knocked down by cars in the area. We know
that in the airport area there is a family of about 3 or 4 tapirs living there. It's not the first time we've had tapirs on the runway at the airport;
actually this is the 3rd time I know of it that it has been reported. However it is the first time I have heard of a fatality of tapir on the runway. I
have been monitoring tapirs in the central Belize area since 2008. I started monitoring with cameras in 2012. What the data is showing is that there is
high level of tapir presence in the area. Actually by Vista Del Mar just in front of Manatee Lookout Bar, I know of 2 tapirs that live in that area. In
September of this year, we collected a 4 day old tapir just near where Williamsons use to be. It is believed that tapir was separated from its mom
while crossing the road. The tapirs in the area are breeding, however the size of the forest in the area is declining rapidly, I mean look at all the
development going on in the Ladyville area. So tapirs are being pushed outside of their natural habitat; they are competing with humans for habitat.
Monitoring the tapir population in that area is very important and one of the ways we can do that is by trapping and tracking them with GPS collars to
see how they are using the landscape. We will also be able to see areas where they have successfully crossing the road and also areas where we have
enough forest for them or enough habitat for them to live."
"I submitted a proposal to the protected conservation trust recently to use GPS collars to track their movement in the area. That will give us data and
advice on how best to help with development in that area as well. It will make us look at maybe let's say the tapirs that are living in the airport
area, they don't have enough habitat; maybe we can translocate them, just an idea."
While the airport is fenced, Poot noted that the tapir can swim, so it can enter the compound through nearby waterways. We could not get comment from
civil aviation, and the Airport Concession Company representative would not return our calls.
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