PANTANAL
The Brazilian Pantanal,lies in Mato-Grosso State, about 60 miles from cuiabá which is the capital of Mato-Grosso.
It is actually a vast area that contains one of the world’s great wetland ecosystems-huge expanses of sub-tropical wetland forests and wet grasslands, and a hundred of more major and minor rivers.
Wildlife is the main ecotourism attraction of the Pantanal. The diversity, abundance, and conspicuousness of animal life here, is sometimes compared favorably with the renowned Okavango Delta of Southern Africa. A major reason that visitors see so much wildlife is that the region is a highly seasonal wetland (The planet’s largest).
It rains for many months, inundating the Pantanal, flooding the grasslands and forests, but then, during the dry season, the flood waters slowly recede until water is restricted to ponds in low-lying areas and to rivers. During the wet season, when the lowland forest and the grassland areas flood, many terrestrial animals are forced to relocate to scattered patches of slightly-higher-elevation scrub, where several species can be easily seen. In the dry season, some wildlife that was spread out during the rainy season congregates around the few remaining water sources, and so is easily seen at this time. Caiman, crocodile relatives, concentrates at these ponds and small rivers in enormous numbers.
Capybara, the world’s largest rodent, is seen easily along roads and water ways. And a particular prize for birders, the endangered hyacinth macaw, the world’s largest macaw, is seen in small flocks in trees near water. Also, rare mammal such as giant otter, giant anteater, marsh deer, and even jaguar, are often spotted. Pantanal is one of the world’s wildlife-viewing “hot-spots”.
