One of Tamanduá Farm’s great concerns is the preservation of the fragile environment of the Northeastern sertão, its flora and fauna. This had led to the preservation of over 900 hectares, close to one third of the Farm’s area, comprising the legal reserve and a Private Nature Reserve of 325 hectares created in June, 1998.

The balance between economic activity, preservation of nature and pleasant scenery has always been our main goal, ever since the beginning of the Farm’s agricultural and pastoral activities. Hunting was forbidden right at the start. Today, the effects of this measure can be observed, because deer, the small cat (gato mirim) and the red cat (gato vermelho) have reappeared on the farm. Foxes, sagoin monkeys, armadillos and the crab-eating raccoon are part of everyday life. Likewise, tinamous and quails, field doves and the asa branca (“white wing”) – a bird that is the symbol of the Northeast – which were almost extinct some time ago, are frequently seen and heard in the woods.

Thanks to strict, permanent supervision, the arribaçã (Paraguayan eared dove), which is still widely hunted in the region, has found a peaceful haven here; but unfortunately, up to now, it has not decided to lay its eggs on the Farm’s grounds. At the reservoirs, the crested duck, the marreca duck, the tree duck (irerê) and the jaçanã – a wading bird – are thriving. The legendary laughing falcon (acauã), which is said to call in the drought, once again sings its strange and distressing song.

Tamanduá Farm has become a refuge, a haven for wild fauna, and here the IBAMA, the Patos Fire Brigade and the State and Federal Police release mammals and birds seized during surprise inspections carried out in the region’s street markets. We have a small infrastructure that enables weak and injured animals to be treated before they are re-introduced into their habitat, under the supervision of a vet. The farming techniques applied include combating erosion, with planting along contour lines, leaving strips of native vegetation.

But the best form of preservation is to know the area in which we operate. This is undertaken with scientific seriousness, and three studies have been carried out at the Farm, two of which were published.

In 1999, the first study was the survey of “Birds on Tamanduá Farm”, carried out by Dr. Rachel Maria de Lyra Neves and Dr. Wallace Rodrigues Telino Júnior. 146 species were recorded, from 43 families of birds, of which 12 are considered endemic to Brazil. So the sertão is not the desert that it is often thought to be! This study gave rise to a publication.

In the same year, a study of mammals on Tamanduá Farm was carried out by Dr. Antônio Christian de A. Moura. This study has not yet been published.

Finally, in 2000 a “Phyto-sociological Survey” of the Private Nature Reserve was carried out by Forest Engineer Lúcio Valério Coutinho de Araujo, a Professor at the Patos Campus of the Campina Grande Federal University. 16 botanical families and 25 individual species were identified.

The IBAMA certified Tamanduá Farm, in 2000, as a Breeder of Wild Species of the Brazilian Fauna for conservation purposes.

At present, with the support of the IBAMA and of a biologist, vets and other specialists, we are trying to draw up a release schedule, so as to have scientific foundations in order to effect this first re-introduction. For this purpose, we are following the international norms of the Expert Group for Re-introductions of the IUCN Surviving Species Commission, approved in 1985 at Gland, Switzerland.

Fazenda Tamanduá
Caixa Postal 65 - Patos / Paraíba - CEP 58700-970  - Brasil
Tel.(55 83)3422-7070    Fax(55 83)3422-7071