16-24 July 2022

We began our trip in this largest wetland on the planet. The Pantanal can only be visited during the dry season, which lasts a few months a year, as the rest of the time up to 80% of the land can be under water.

We were lucky enough to watch a couple and a family of Jaguar and then a scene of Crocodile predation. In this region, this big cat has the particularity of having specialised in hunting Crocodiles. It does not attack cattle and farmers leave it alone, unlike everywhere else in the world where large predators are often persecuted by farmers.

Another highlight was the sighting of a family of Giant Otters napping on a fallen tree trunk above the river. We also had the opportunity to meet our first Brazilian Tapir and our first Crab-eating Fox.

Unfortunately, the Anaconda was not encountered, but the diversity and richness of the birdlife in this area finally balanced out this frustration!

It is important to note that a tiny part of this World Heritage site, listed only in 2000, is protected by the Brazilian state: barely 1.3%. The rest is left to the big land owners and their cattle. Fortunately, some of these owners are converting their land into hotels or ecotourism sites with protected wildlife areas accessible by many trails

Visited area: