Meet “Batitú,” the Cartoon Hero for Grassland Shorebirds

The Alliance for the Grasslands recently created a unique “spokesperson” for their partnership-based initiative to conserve grasslands in the Southern Cone region of South America. “Batitú” is an Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda) that perches on fenceposts and talks to cows and gauchos (ranchers) alike. He is charmingly portrayed by artist Adrián Montini on the Alliance’s Website. “This isn’t the first time I’ve painted grassland sandpipers. Some years ago, I collaborated with the Argentine Wildlife Foundation to create Segismundo, a Red Knot who visited the Samborombón Bay grasslands area,” Adrián reminisces.

“We like the idea of the fencepost, a symbol of both cattle and prairie management. This important human activity is being continuously replaced by crops and tree plantations, reducing the amount of habitat available for grassland-associated birds, especially shorebirds, in the southern prairies,” Alliance coordinator Aníbal Parera explains.

Batitú represents the needs of migratory grassland birds that breed in the prairies of North America and arrive in the pampas of South America during the boreal winter / austral summer. As long as there are fences for him to perch on, he’ll continue to chat with the cows and encourage the gauchos to conserve the habitat they all share.

Meet Batitú on the Alliance for the Grasslands website.