The Pantanal’s Giants - Six Unforgettable Animals
Jaguar and Caiman In the Brazilian Pantanal. Image: Courtesy of © SouthWild
Roberta Kravette
Co-Founder
Destination: Wildlife
The Pantanal is big!
The world's largest tropical freshwater wetland (over 43.5 million acres) is 20+ times larger than the Everglades! Its vast landscape supports South America's largest population of its biggest cat, and its tallest flying birds. The world's heftiest rodent is home here, and its biggest parrot – and the largest congregation (if not the largest species) of caiman in South America.
✔︎ Trip Tips
Where: Western Brazil. Mateo Grosso State
When: November, shoulder season
Why: World’s Largest Wetlands, Jaguar, Giant River otters, and 404 bird species
How: Guided Tour. Arrive Ciuaba International Airport
Everything in the Pantanal is Significant!
According to the Rainforest Trust, this biodiversity hotspot supports about 3500 plant species, 656 bird species, 325 fish species, and 150+ different mammal species – and don't forget its reptiles (~98,) amphibians (~53), and insects (butterflies!)
And then there are the humans. In 2020, an estimated 1.5 million people, including 270 communities of indigenous peoples, ranchers, (hopefully responsible) tourism operators, and others, lived in and depended on the Pantanal.
However, it is no secret that humans and climate change are taking their toll on this vital ecosystem. Only 4.6% of the Pantanal is protected, most of that as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.
The Pantanal is Also Fragile
In recent years, the Pantanal lost over 30% of its total water volume due to overuse upstream, exacerbated by climate change, which caused higher-than-normal temperatures and rainfall fluctuations. And the recent fires, mostly human-started, are infamous, killing wildlife and destroying vital habitats, which then kills more wildlife.
Thankfully, there are still pristine areas where animals and birds flourish.
Some, like a stretch of the lower Three Brothers Rivers and the Black Chanel, are privately protected and have welcomed wildlife tourists for decades. Other protected areas are partnerships, like the new 326,179-acre Taquari Wetlands State Park, a collaboration between The Rainforest Trust, their local partner, Onçafari, the Mato Grosso do Sul state's Environment Agency, Onçafari and other stakeholders, plus a global alliance of funders.
These protected areas and others are the hope for Pantanal and its irreplaceable species and offer great opportunities for you and me to experience -
Introducing The Pantanal's Six Wildlife Giants!
Jaguar! The Biggest Cat in the Western Hemisphere
Jaguar in the Pantanal, Brazil. Image: Courtesy: ©SouthWild
The Jaguar is the Western hemisphere's biggest cat and the third largest in the world – only lions and tigers are bigger than this kitty! But the Jaguar's bite wins for strongest, and this cat does not purr. It roars!. Their name says it all; it comes from the Indigenous word "yaguar," which means "he who kills with one leap."
Pantanal Jaguar after a dip in the river. He looks a little grump (or maybe hungry) to me! Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
That one leap comes with one bite to the back of the head (unlike lions and other big cats that go for the throat). Jaguar's super strong teeth can cut through a turtle shell or a giant caiman's hide – and they regularly take prey 2 or 3 times their size, but the big cats will eat just about anything from birds to primates, deer, and armadillos.
Jaguar Fun Fact
Breeding Jaguars can mate up to 100 times in a day!
Jaguar Identification
In photographs, the Jaguar is sometimes mistaken for a leopard—but aside from being significantly larger, the Jaguar's rosettes can have spots in the middle, and its legs are shorter and its head more rounded.
Jaguar males in the Pantanal are significantly larger than females, weighing up to 265 pounds (120kg), while females only reach about 220 lbs. (100 kg) and grow up to 5 ½ ft (170cm) long, plus a tail that can be 2 ½ ft (80cm)! These are big cats! However, elsewhere in their present range, Jaguars are smaller.
Threats to the Jaguar
Panthera onca IUNC: Near Threatened. Historically, Jaguars ranged from the southwest US to central Argentina. Today, their range is about half what it was, with up to half of the world's remaining population of about 170,000 Jaguars in Brazil's Pantanal and most of the rest in its shrinking Amazon.
As deforestation (habitat loss) from illegal mining, ranching, fires, etc., increases, prey decreases, and Jaguars turn to the ranch animals that displaced them for food, making Jaguars targets for ranchers. And there is still a substantial illegal market for their teeth, paws, and other organs.
Best Place to See Jaguars
Along the São Laurenço River, northeast of Porto Jofre in the Mato Grosso State, is a good place to see jaguars. Wild jaguars lounge on the banks, unbothered by the small boats of camera-snapping tourists slowly moving up and down the river. Stay aware - they are good swimmers.
The World’s Biggest Parrot: Hyacinth Macaw
Introducing Hyacinth Macaws -The world's largest and fastest parrot always seem to be enjoying themselves. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Hyacinth Macaws, the world's largest, fastest, and arguably the most spectacular parrot, always look happy. Perhaps it is their large, yellow-ringed black eyes, that thick curved beak with its bright yellow splash, or the lovely way bonded pairs seem to dote on each other, staying close, preening, and playing. Hyacinth Macaws are beautiful, photogenic, and fun to watch!
Found primarily in Brazil's Pantanal, Hyacinth Macaws have small populations in eastern Bolivia and (possibly) northeastern Paraguay. Hyacinth Macaws are particular birds, preferring little coconuts from acurí and bocaiúvi palm trees and nesting 80% of the time in old (80+ years) manduvis, with hollows large enough for the nest and the birds.
Hyacinth Macaw Fun Fact
The Hyacinth Macaw's call can travel up to a mile away!
Hyacinth Macaw Identification
The world's biggest parrot is hard to miss at 39 inches (1 m) tall, wearing bright blue feathers and looking out at you with yellow-ringed eyes, its head cocked playfully to one side.
Here’s Looking at You, Kid. Hyacinth Macaw have a distinctive yellow eye ring. Image: Courtesy of ©SouthWild
Conservation Status of Hyacinth Macaw
Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus IUNC Vulnerable – declining toward Endangered, again
The Hyacinth Macaw has been on a conservation roller coaster for decades. In the 1980s, an astounding 10,000 Hyacinth Macaws were hunted and trafficked. By 1990, the total population was only about 3,000 birds - the brink of extinction.
Through dedicated conservation efforts, they began to rebound. However, the gains are fast shrinking due to habitat destruction and recent climate change-driven rain patterns that impact reproduction, fires that destroy food and nesting sources. A vital Hyacinth Macaw stronghold was the Sâo Francisco do Perigara ranch in Mato Grosso State, with an estimated 1000 birds closely monitored by the Hyacinth Macaw Institute. Unfortunately, after 90% of the property burned in 2020, only 227 birds returned.
Note: Read more on Hyacinth Macaw conservation: “How A (Former) Wildlife Trafficker and a Biologist are Saving a Species” D: W 2018
Best Place to See Hyacinth Macaw
The Sâo Francisco do Perigara ranch in Mato Grosso State is still a good place to find Hyacinth Macaws and look along the Three Brothers River and other wet, swampy, forested areas of the Pantanal.
Capybara, The World’s Largest Rodent
Capybaras along a river bank in the Pantanal, Brazil. Image: Courtesy © SouthWild
The Capybara is a semi-aquatic herbivore, related to the guinea pig and the chinchilla. They are always near water (rivers, lakes, marshes) in densely forested areas and are great swimmers, munching on aquatic grasses as they "dog-paddle" along.
Capybaras are social creatures and tend to stay in groups of up to twenty individuals, a helpful preference because these gentle giants are a favorite prey animal of big cats (jaguars and pumas) and caiman. Their young are targets for anacondas, forest foxes, small wild cats, and even birds of prey like harpy eagles and caracara. Any female in the group will suckle the pups, which is helpful for protection!
Capybara Fun Fact
Capybaras sing – or at least sound like they are singing. They also communicate with "purrs," grunts, whistles, barks, whining, and teeth-chattering!
Capybara Identification
Capybara with a Cattle Tyrant ( bird) in its back, soak up some rays in the Pantanal. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Capybaras range between 60 (27kg) and 175 lbs (80kg,) with course red-brown hair covering the barrel-shaped body. Small eyes and ears placed high on their heads to stay out of the water, webbed toes, and the ability to hold their breath for up to five minutes all contribute to their comfort in the water.
Conservation Status of Capybara
Hydrochoeris hydrochaeris IUNC: Least Concern - Capybaras are plentiful but face challenges due to deforestation, habitat destruction, and illegal poaching.
Where to See Capybara
Along the rivers in Mato Grasso, in Brazil's Pantanal – and look for Jaguar, too! Ilha de Anhatomirim ( a small island off Brazil's coast) is famous for them.
Jabiru Stork, South America’s Tallest Flying Bird
South America’s tallest flying bird, the Jabiru Stork, gliding across the Pantanal. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Jabiru Storks may not be the world's most beautiful birds, but they are among the most unforgettable; these huge, social, and strikingly colored birds make a big impression.
They are social birds, greeting each other with head bobs and clacking beaks and feeding in small groups, on fish, amphibians, small mammals, etc. Jabiru storks will also eat carrion and dead fish, performing the vulture's environmental cleansing job. Jabaru are considered monogamous, with both parents caring for the young. True to their size, the branches used for their nest, high at the top of rainforest trees, are also shockingly large - some can measure up to 8 ft (244cm!) long.
Jabiru Stork at dusk. Note the beak, males’ are straighter than females. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Jabiru Stork Fun Fact
Legend has it that Jabiru pairs breed every other season, taking a vacation from parenthood between broods because raising their chicks is so difficult. Hmmm!
Jabiru Stork Identification
The huge bird (5ft / 170cm tall!) with a wingspan of up to 12 ft / 366cm, is the tallest flying bird in South America.They have a black featherless head and beak atop a black neck with a distinctive red band, snow-white body, and long black legs. The Jabiru stork’s neck swells when it gets excited, giving it its name from the Tupi-Guaraní language, meaning "swollen neck."
Confused as to who is who? Check out the profile, the males have a straighter beak than the females.
Conservation Status of Jabiru Stork
Jabiru mycteria IUNC: Least Concern - Jabiru storks are listed by IUNC as Least Concern; however, in portions of their traditional Mexico and Central America ranges, they are considered extinct or have only a few dozen isolated breeding pairs. Their population is considered stable in Brazil's Pantanal and Crooked Tree in Belize.
Best Place to Look for Jabiru Stork
They are found (just about) throughout the Brazilian Pantanal, including along the Three Brothers River in "Jaguarland." The Gran Chaco (dry forest) Reserve in Paraguay. Please note: the Saddlebilled stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis) in sub-Saharan Africa and a stork in Australia (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus) are both sometimes called “Jabiru”; but only South and Central America have Jabiru mycteria!
Giant River Otter
A Giant River Otter enjoys lunch. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Don't be fooled by the Giant River otter's cute face; the Tupi people call them Lobo del Rio, or River Wolf, or Ariranha, meaning water jaguar, with good reason! The Giant River Otter is one of the Pantanal's top predators! The voracious fish eaters (they eat armored catfish!) are known to take an anaconda, caiman, and piranhas, too (yes, piranha are fish, but not your usual goldie!) - and their sharp claws are all business!
The Giant River Otter is the largest of the 13 otter species. These are social creatures and live in (loud, boisterous) groups of up to twenty individuals, creating their dens, called "holts," along riverbanks among the tree roots.
But the audacious Giant River Otter is also one of the rarest animals in the Pantanal.
Giant River Otter Fun Fact
Male Giant River otters are called "dogs" or boars, females are called bitches, the kids are pups or cubs.
Giant River Otter Identification
"Giant" River Otters live up to their name. They can grow to the size of a small jaguar, up to 6ft (183cm) long head to tail and weigh up to 70 lbs (27.5 kg) and use their powerful tail as a rudder and webbed feet for swimming!
Conservation Status of Giant River Otters
Pteronura brasiliensis IUNC: Endangered - Historically, Giant River otters were extensively hunted for their thick pelt. Today, deforestation, habitat degradation (water contamination), overfishing, and conflicts with fishermen are all active threats. And, of course, the impacts of climate change, including higher temperatures and less rain, plus the intensified wildfires that throw ash and sediment into water, altering nutrients and temperatures, and even changing the water's chemistry, all threaten the Giant otters’ (and others) existence. Giant River Otters are already extinct in some of their former range, including in Uruguay.
Best Place to See Giant River Otters
The River Cuibia, near the confluence of the Three Brothers Rivers and along the São Laurenço River, northeast of Porto Jofre.
Yacara Caiman
Caiman sunbathing on the riverbank. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Caiman Yacare , Caiman Iatirostris
Caiman (Caimaninae) may look similar, but they are neither alligators (Alligatoridae) nor crocodiles (Crocodylidae). There are six caiman species altogether; two live in the Pantanal; Jacaré or Yacaré Caiman is the most common, but you can also find Broad-snouted Caiman here. Yacaré eat fish, including but not exclusively piranha; aquatic snails found on floating vegetation mats are also on the menu. The caiman's powerful jaws (400+ pounds of force per square ft.) crack the snail shell, which their stomach acids then dissolve.
Yacare Caiman Fun Fact
Yacare or Jacaré caiman are not as aggressive as their alligator (distant) cousins, and locals regularly swim with them, happy because they keep the piranha population down.
Caiman up close and personal. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild
Yacare Caiman Identification
Yacare caiman are smaller than their alligator or croc relatives, but their up to 9.8ft (3m) bodies are still impressive! The Jacaré caiman's bottom jaw has teeth that poke out through holes in its upper jaw – the same as with piranha – which is why they are sometimes called Piranha caiman.
Conservation Status of Yacare Caiman
Caiman Yacare and Caiman Iatirostris IUNC: Least Concern - They were hunted extensively into the 1980s for their skins to be used for leather. But conservation efforts in recent decades have led to a strong comeback for the Yacara Caiman.
Best Place to see Yacare Caiman
With over 10 million caiman in the Pantanal, these guys are hard to miss! Look along river banks and just about anywhere there is water and fish, some of those 10 million caiman are sure to be waiting for their photo op.
The best place to experience these giants (and Jaguars and Giant River Otters) is from a boat floating down a river in a protected area, because in that situation, you are not perceived as a threat. Like a safari vehicle in Africa, you are part of the scene. Relax and Enjoy.
Jaguar in the Pantanal, Brazil. Image: Courtesy ©SouthWild.
Visit the Pantanal
So, whether you're spotting the majestic Yacare Caiman along riverbanks, tracking the elusive Jaguar through dense vegetation, or marveling at the vibrant plumage of the Hyacinth Macaw, the Pantanal offers wildlife encounters unlike anywhere else on Earth. Pack your binoculars, bring your sense of wonder, and prepare for an unforgettable journey into one of our planet's last great wilderness areas.
If the Pantanal sounds like somewhere you want to visit, we are leading a Jaguar Safari in the Brazilian Pantanal to benefit the Felidae Conservation Fund later this year. Jaguars have been protected on this stretch of river in the Brazilian Pantanal for over twenty years. This is Jaguarland - a wildlife photographer’s paradise. Join us, learn with us, let’s experience the Pantanal together.
We will also look for 404 different bird species (!), primates, ocelot, maned wolf, and more. We will stay in a floating hotel, and when we return to our accommodations, we will listen to evening lectures by local naturalists.
Contact us for more information.