Strange Tails
We're delighted to have a strong population of strange-tailed tyrants at the reserve. So much so that we've adopted these beautiful and endangered birds as the symbol of the Trust
The growing diversity of the animals of Reserva Don Luis is a fresh source of delight every time we return. We don't play favourites, but it's impossible not to engage more with some of our more conspicuous guests. One of these is the strange-tailed tyrant. The male is stoic in his tolerance of one of nature's strangest - and it would seem least practical - adaptations. He's willing to suffer to be beautiful, and somehow manages to fly with tail feathers that were surely designed for a bird three times his size.
We love his perseverance; his resolution to succeed against challenge, and his ability to prove that anything is possible. He's appearing in growing numbers on the Reserva Do Luis, and his success has become an allegory for, and a symbol of, our own.
When we started the process of updating and redesigning our website, we wanted to adopt an image that symbolised our aims and our challenges. This brave little flycatcher, with his indomitable character, was the perfect choice.
The logo is a stylised profile of a male tyrant, silhouetted against the sunrise. We coloured the sun the blue of the Argentinian flag in honour of this country's beauty, its climate and the breathtaking span of magnificent animals that it nurtures.
Bat Research
Our bat team is conducting bat research both in the Ibera Marshes and in other provinces. We are especially concentrating on Misiones at the moment where we find the largest bat in Argentina, Chrotopterus auriitus and Myotis ruber, two species that we are researching.
Jaguar
Panthera onca
The Jaguar has been re-introduced to the Ibeta marshes. It is a very involved project run by Conservation Land Trust (Re-wilding Argentina), which has been ongoing since 2010. The project currently now has around a dozen free-roaming individuals.
The project is now quite advanced, and for sure we will see Jaguars at our reserve in the near future.
The Jaguar is the largest big cat in the Americas and ranks third in size globally after the Lion. It is considered NT according the IUCN redllist and its numbers are declining rapidly due to loss of habitat. It also frequently comes into conflict with cattle ranchers and is illegally shot.
It is highly muscled and stocky and has spots covering its coat that resemble those of the African Leopard. It usually weighs between 50-100kg although larger males have been recorded. It is a good swimmer and thus likes marshes and other water bodies. It is also a good climber and spends most of its tiime alone except when breeding or raising cubs which like most mammals is attended to by the female.