The Pantanal Rules!!!

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.A Southern Tamandua goes for a stroll
in the Pantanal with its baby
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

“There’s a Southern Tamandua with its baby in front of the lodge!”, our guide said upon breaking into the room and interrupting the slideshow that one of our clients, also a professional photographer, was presenting. No one seemed to be annoyed by the sudden intervention – after all, the slides could always be resumed afterwards. But tamandua and baby, no way.

We went out to the garden and there they were, demonstrating much less worries than one could suppose from an animal that suddenly finds itself surrounded by a crowd of cameras and flashes. Everybody took some pictures and decided to go back to the room – except for Kelly, Mariana, Mike, our guide Fabiano and myself, still flabbergasted with the rare scene. All satisfied, we decided to let those critters follow on alone. Little we knew about what was yet to come…

After they had gone for about 100 feet, a super curious Crab-eating Fox comes and seems to be a little too interested on that pair of ant eaters. We quickly understood what was going on: the baby, which looked more like a stuffed toy, was about to become dinner. We left our biological purism aside and decided that there was a need to intercede: we walked towards the trio, scaring the fox away, and joined the family until the nearest tree, where they would be in safety. And that is how mother tamandua got herself a human escort for the next 200 yards and 10 minutes until they reached a safe spot. I’m really sorry, Mr. Fox, but tonight you will have to look for food elsewhere. Mision accomplished, back to Kelly’s slides!

The cute little fox almost had its night of big bad wolf!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

I don’t know of any area where scenes like that are so possible and almost trivial. The fact only came to confirm the feeling that I had some days ago: that the Pantanal is for me the best place in the world to see and photograph wildlife, nature, landscapes, local culture and many other things. Each day I understand that this was the main reason for which we decided to come back and live in this region after almost two years in São Paulo.

Want to check it out? So be welcome to Fotograma’s new Month’s Gallery with a selection of 20 pictures that I took during these winter months in three Brazilian biomes where I have been: Amazon, Cerrado and Pantanal.

To see the images, click here here and choose 08.2009 gallery. If you experience any difficulties, please try this alternative link. Have a nice virtual trip!


A Giant Anteater having a chat with a Red-legged Seriema!
Photo: © Daniel De Granville, 2009

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