The Pantanal

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Introducing The Pantanal

The Amazon may attract more fame and glory, but the Pantanal is a better place to see wildlife. In the Amazon, the animals hide in the dense foliage, but in the open spaces of the Pantanal, wildlife is visible to the most casual observer. If you like to see animals in their natural environment, the Pantanal – with the greatest concentration of fauna in the New World – should not be missed.

Located in the center of South America, the world’s largest contiguous wetland is 20 times the size of the famed Everglades in Florida – some 210,000 sq km. Something less than 100,000 sq km of this is in Bolivia and Paraguay; the rest is in Brazil, split between the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul.

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Boats and Jacare (Caiman crocodilus yacare), a native crocodilian similar to an alligator, in the vast wetlands of the Pantanal- Mato Grosso, Brazil
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Boats and Jacare (Caiman crocodilus yacare), a native crocodilian similar to an alligator, in the vast wetlands of the Pantanal- Mato Grosso, Brazil

Lonely Planet photographer
  • Jane Sweeney
  • Lonely Planet photographer
  • Close up of the Sungrebe (Heliornis fulica) in the lush Pantanal wetlands, Brazil.
  • Close up of the Green Kingfisher (Chloroceryle americana) in the lush Pantanal wetlands, Brazil.
  • Swamp and savannah, Pantanal.
  • The seemingly ubiquitos Jacare (Caiman crocodilus yacare) is an easy target for poachers, prized for its skin which fetches up to US$500- the Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil
  • Cruising through the wetlands of the Pantanal in the traditional dug out canoe- Mato Grosso, Brazil
  • The Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) stands motionless in the water, ready to pounce on any unsuspecting fish- the Pantanal, Mato Grosso, Brazil
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