Pantanal Bushmasters Écotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Écotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Écotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Écotours
Aventure pour tous
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Adventure for all
PANTANAL'S CHARACTERISTICS
Pantanal is the world's largest freshwater wetland. It sprawls over an area estimated to be more than 150 thousand square kilometers in the middle of the south tropic.
In addition to 25% permanently flooded area, its seasonal floods and hot climate contribute to the proliferation of numerous invertebrate species and a vast collection of aquatic and terrestrial vegetation as a result of its source of rich and pulsating food chain.
The exceptional wildlife biodiversity, large concentration of species combined with a great extension of open view landscapes make the Pantanal one of the premier destinations for observing wildlife in the Americas.
Located in the heart of the South America, Pantanal is a collection of different types of biomes, lush landscapes, exuberant local wildlife with massive populations of migratory birds, which has resulted in this area becoming known as one of the most renowned places for birdwatching in the world. With around 600 bird species, the Pantanal remains one of the best environments to see the endangered species like hyacinth macaws, the largest of all psittacids. Other species commonly encountered in the Pantanal include the colorful and the exotic toco toucan, the largest of all toucans, the Jabiru stork, tallest flying bird in the Americas. Not forgetting every year, huge flocks of aquatic birds, like the spectacular spoonbill, various storks, ducks, ibises, and many others utilize this area as their fly way for migrating. You would also be delighted to see many colorful birds, small passerines and a vast assortment of birds of prey, including hawks, falcons and owls. This is equally true for mammals. There is no better place to observe and photograph the jaguar, not even in Amazonia. As well as giant otters, giant anteaters, deer, tapir, armadillos, monkeys and many others species.
The Pantanal's complex of ecosystems also exhibits a wide diversity of fish, reptiles and amphibians. From the mythical piranha, voracious carnivora, to immense population of caimans and it is a common event to even meet the huge, strong and beautiful yellow anaconda. The vegetation of the Pantanal is also very diverse containing exuberant components, as the pink flowering of “Ipês”, the blue flowering of “Carobas”, the yellow flowering of “Paratudos”, and many more. There are a vast number of different type flowers, trees, herbs, bushes and vines. And unique collections of ornamental aquatic plants such as the Water Hyacinths and the beautiful Amazon Water Lilies. It was not by chance Pantanal was recognized by UNESCO as a Natural Heritage of Humanity. The abundance and diversity of its ecosystems is spectacular creating a unique ecological paradise making Pantanal an amazing and unforgettable experience. Consult us.
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
GEOGRAPHICAL DATA
The Pantanal is a floodplain in the middle of central South America, at the northern end of the Prata River Basin and very close to the Amazon Basin. Its main drain consists of the Paraguay River and its tributary, the Cuiabá, in an intricate and complex hydrographic network with strong seasonality. The wetland is surrounded by plateaus and mountain ranges that supply it with water and thousands of tons of sediment every year. We highlight to the northeast the Chapada dos Guimaraes and Serra de São Vicente, to the east the Serra de São Jeronimo, to the southeast the Serra de Maracajú and to the south, the Serra de Bodoquena. One of the most beautiful landscapes is the Amolar Mountain Range, part of a long north-south chain, retaining water and producing the most flooded area of the Pantanal, with immense water mirrors. Further west appear the mountains of Chiquetania and further a long way, the Andes mountain range, which also provides water. About 90% of the Pantanal is in Brazil, but most scientists do not consider it a biome, but a mosaic of some of the main South American biomes: the Amazonia, the Cerrado and the Chaco are its main influences. Therefore, the Pantanal tends not to have endemism, but brings together species from different biomes, including the Atlantic Forest. Among the migratory birds, it receives many species from the south of the continent, but also from the northern hemisphere, such as the powerful Osprey and, particularly, a beautiful collection of waders that can move from the Arctic circle. Between the 16th and 22nd south parallels, it has a typically tropical, predominantly warm climate, for which the average altitude of only 100m above sea level, with a very flat topography. The average temperature is about 25ºC, with well-defined seasons. It rains in summer, between September and May, about 1,300 mm annually. In the dry winter, there may be penetration of some cold fronts, lowering temperatures more strongly in the southern portion. Not being, in general, very significant variations, the local culture usually divides the year in the "dry" and "water" seasons. Inside the Pantanal is widely used the term "ebb" when the water level begins to drop, usually in March. It is interesting to note that, in the Pantanal, the levels of the volume of water evaporation are higher than the precipitations.
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
Pantanal Bushmasters Ecotours
PANTANAL'S ECOSYSTEMS
Among the most notorious characteristics of the Pantanal, we highlight the diversity of its ecosystems extremely different from each other, and therefore, so close geographically, formed by various types of vegetation, such as long expanses of forest, vast wooded savannas, natural fields to lose sight of, and vast zone of swamps. This partly explains the richness of the fauna present in the Pantanal. Below, we have data for certain ecosystems of the Pantanal:
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Baía: Freshwater lagoon, of varying sizes and shapes, often covered by aquatic vegetation. It can be isolated, but is often associated with rivers, from which it usually disconnects in drought, when it can dry completely.
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Salina: Typical of Nhecolândia, southeastern Pantanal region. Blackish water ponds, alkaline, without superficial communication with other waters. It contains no fish, but may contain algae, insects and small crustaceans.
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Corixo: Strictly speaking, it is a pallet, it was a river in the past, currently with grounded springs, which no longer exist. Therefore, it depends on water from the field, or is fed by a larger river, usually perennial. Usually navigable by small vessels, it can dry in some stretches.
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Vazantes: Natural drainage channel, can be a small and elongated drawdown that collects water from the field, eventually connected to some “corixo”.
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Largo: A large extension of native field, generally lower and more floodable than the surrounding forest formations. Much used by cattle as natural pasture, which is why it is a formation much appreciated by farmers.
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Cordilheiras: Lands higher than water hardly cover up, even at the height of the flood. That's why, much used for farmhouses and other improvements. With an elongated shape, it is covered by forest. The higher and drained the land is, it usually forms dry forests, often influenced by the Cerrado or Chaco.
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Capões: They are hubcaps of higher and less flooded terrain, covered by forests and surrounded by lower and flooded fields. Forests can present variations, such as "cold forests", wetter and shaded.
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Lixeiro: In reality, it is a savanna formation, typical of the Cerrado. Quite common in the interior of the wetland, it receives the name of a tree, the « lixeira », predominant in this formation. It develops in well-drained locations, but can spend much of the year flooded.
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Carvoeiro: Common type of dry forest with high dominance of the «carvoeiro». It develops in more clayey soil, famous for its quagmires.
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Cerrado: Savanna vegetation, formed by a shrubby strata, with a predomination in grasses, trees and small trees well dispersed, usually twisted and having a very thick hull, developing in acidic soil, chemically poor and especially rich in iron and aluminum.
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Cerradão: Similar to the "cerrado", but denser and having a forest aspect.
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Mata ciliar: Vegetation present on the banks of the river.
HISTORIC AND CULTURAL ASPECTS
The first Europeans to arrive in the Pantanal were the Spanish in the early 16th century. Going up the estuary of the Prata River, they followed the Paraguay River and founded several villages and jesuit missions in the south of the Pantanal. When they reached the center of the plain, impressed by the immense flooded area, they named it Mar of Xarayés, a name borrowed from one of the many indigenous cultures that inhabited and roamed the region. Shortly after, finding gold in Peru and silver in Bolivia, most of these settlements were abandoned, yielding territories to the colonizer Portuguese.
At the beginning of the 18th century, the “Bandeirantes”, adventurous settlers from São Paulo de Piratininga or Piracicaba, discovered gold in the region of Cuiabá, founding several villages and mining areas around the Pantanal. The cycle, however, was short, and left the region again depopulated. The remnants were isolated for a long time, merging european and african culture with indigenous ones. The roads were the rivers and cutting through the Pantanal, they realized the vastness of native fields, were very suitable for cattle breeding. Thus, for more than two centuries, this has been the main local economic activity.
From the intense use of the horse, occurred the emergence of a local breed, the "pantanal horse", incredibly adapted to the aquatic environment. On the edge of the rivers, a riverside population was formed, whose main activity to fuel the intense river traffic. Later, they concentrated on fishing, given the high quantity of fish in the location. With the advent of roads and the advance of livestock throughout Brazil, these activities became less profitable and the Pantanal continued with very low population density, which, for wildlife, is great.
Over the years of isolation, a typical local culture has been established, with its own language, popular festivals, legends, culinary, etc...
MAP OF NORTHERN PANTANAL
