Tapytá Natural Reserve

The Tapytá Natural Reserve, located in the Department of Caazapá, in Paraguay, has 4.736 hectares and since 2003 it has been managed by the Moisés Bertoni Foundation, which implements various conservation activities there.

A great diversity of animal and plant species representative of the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forest (BAAPA) is preserved in the Reserve and is recognized as one of the most important places for bird conservation in Paraguay.

Background

In 1996, the company Forestal Yguazú SRL, as part of a Shell Forestry investment plan, acquired land in Paraguay for a reforestation and afforestation project. The Moisés Bertoni Foundation (FMB) was contracted for the technical studies for the implementation of a Natural Reserve in the natural ecosystems of said property, in which its biological importance was identified, accentuated by its strategic location between two protected areas.

In recognition of the institutional trajectory and previous joint work, in 2003, Shell Forestry donated 4.736 hectares of the private reserve to the Foundation for its administration, management, and conservation in perpetuity.

On June 28, 2005, by Decree No. 5831, the Tapytá Reserve was recognized by the Paraguayan State as a “Perpetuity Protected Wilderness Area.”

Biodiversity Conservation

Within the Tapytá Natural Reserve, 6 natural communities have been identified, including: forests of variable height and structure, wooded savannahs, wetlands, caves, rivers and springs.

These ecosystems present a great diversity of animal and plant species, having been recorded to date: 435 species of plants, 44 species of mammals (including an exotic species, the European hare), more than 375 species of birds (53% of the richness of birds in Paraguay), of which 65 are endemic to the Alto Paraná Atlantic Forest, which places it as one of the most important places for bird conservation in Paraguay, 14 species of reptiles and 16 species of amphibians

Background

Most significant species

Mammals

Aguará Guazú or big fox (Chrysocyon brachyurus): this threatened species and is typical of the fields, it is protected in Tapytá.

Yaguarete'i or tiger cat (Leopardus wiedii): this nationally and internationally threatened species inhabits the humid forests of Tapytá.

Birds

Chopi Say'ju (Xanthopsar flavus): This threatened species lives in vegetated wetlands, natural grasslands and rural areas.

Bellbird (Procnias nudicollis): threatened species that lives in high forests.

Tachuri Coludo (Culicivora caudacuta): threatened species that lives in dry and humid natural savannahs and grasslands.