World Tapir Day launches 2010 fundraising initiative.

March 2, 2010 - PRLog -- 2010 World Tapir Day will see the first fun run/walk/ride/skate to raise funds for tapir conservation.

Trundle for Tapirs lets tapir fans from around the world get involved in tapir conservation through fundraising. By signing up to participate, people commit to walking or running a distance during the week in which World Tapir Day falls. Participants then seek sponsorship from their family, friends, work colleagues, or anybody else they invite to sponsor them. People can sponsor people a fixed amount or can offer an incentive by sponsoring an amount per kilometre.

Participants walk, run, ride or skate the minimum distance to which they have committed during the week in which World Tapir Day falls. This can be done in groups or individually, outside or at the gymnasium.

After completing Trundle for Tapirs, participants collect money from sponsors. All monies raised are be donated to the 2010 World Tapir Day fund, the World Land Trust's Ecuador Rainforest Project.

World Tapir Day is celebrated annually on 27 April.

Further information about "Trundle for Tapirs" is available at the World Tapir Day website at http://www.tapirday.org/

The World Land Trust website is reachable at http://www.worldlandtrust.org/

About World Tapir Day:

World Tapir Day exists to raise awareness about the four species of tapir that inhabit Central and South America and South-East Asia, as well as funds for tapir-related conservation projects. Despite their size, history and ecological importance, tapirs remain one of the least recognised species of animals. In comparison with other animals, tapirs feature little in the collective consciousness and are frequently misidentified by zoo visitors. Even in their home ranges, tapirs receive little attention.

The plight of tapirs is symbolic for the wider threat to their habitats specifically, and the world's ecology in general. The decline of tapir populations is indicative of the general health of their ranges; their disappearance from their home ranges often marks a point of 'no return' for the natural environment. The destruction of forests into small, isolated enclaves and the encroachment of human activity into pristine forests affects all native species. However, as the largest - yet perhaps the quietest - of animals in their ranges, tapirs disappear without trace with countless other species.

All species of tapir are endangered. Saving tapirs helps to save the rainforest. Saving rainforests helps to save the planet and prevent damaging climate change.

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World Tapir Day exists to raise awareness about the four species of tapir that inhabit Central and South America and South-East Asia, as well as funds for tapir-related conservation projects.