Brazil

América del Sur

Capital: BrasíliaJune to October

450

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Brazil is the most biodiverse country on the planet and holds around sixty per cent of the Amazon rainforest, along with five other major biomes. The Cerrado, the richest savannah in the world in plant species, covers much of the centre of the country and acts as a water tank feeding the rivers of three basins. The Pantanal, in the southwest, is the largest continuous wetland on the planet; it floods every year and in the dry season concentrates a density of wildlife comparable to Africa's, with the best chance in the world of seeing jaguars. The Atlantic Forest, along the coast, is a biodiversity hotspot reduced to fragments, and the Caatinga is the largest tropical dry forest in South America.

The nature of Brazil

National animal: The rufous-bellied thrush is the national bird; the jaguar is the country's emblematic animal

Did you know?

The golden lion tamarin, a small primate with an orange mane found only in the Atlantic Forest, was down to some two hundred animals in the 1970s. Its recovery combined breeding in zoos around the world, reintroduction into forest fragments, land purchases and the building of tree corridors over roads so that isolated groups could meet. Today they number more than four thousand, although a yellow fever outbreak struck them again in 2018.

Biodiversity profile

America del Sur (mayor pais del continente)Aprox. 32% del territorio bajo alguna figura de proteccion (incluye tierras indigenas, que suman mas del 12% del pais)

Climate

•Ecuatorial humedo (Af) en la Amazonia
•Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en el Cerrado y zonas centrales
•Semiarido (BSh) en el Sertao (Caatinga)
•Subtropical humedo (Cfa) en el sur
•Templado oceanico en zonas altas del sur

Main biomes

•Amazonia (selva tropical, mayor bosque continuo del mundo)
•Cerrado (sabana, hotspot de biodiversidad)
•Caatinga (matorral seco)
•Mata Atlantica/Bosque Atlantico (hotspot, muy fragmentado)
•Pantanal (humedal mas grande del mundo)
•Pampa (pastizales del sur)
•Selva amazónica
•Humedal del Pantanal
•Sabana del Cerrado
•Mata Atlántica
•Caatinga o bosque seco
•Manglar costero
•Pampa meridional

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Mayor extension continua de manglares del mundo
•Arrecifes de coral en Abrolhos (unicos del Atlantico Sur)
•Praderas marinas costeras

Flagship wildlife

•Jaguar
•Tucan
•Delfin rosado del Amazonas (boto)
•Arara azul
•Perezoso
•Anaconda
•Capibara
•Oso hormiguero gigante
•Tití león dorado
•Lobo de crin
•Guacamayo jacinto
•Nutria gigante
•Tapir amazónico
•Tortuga arrau
•Ballena franca austral

Notable endemic species

•Mono leon dorado (Mata Atlantica)
•Lobo de crin
•Mico leon negro
•Numerosas especies de aves y anfibios exclusivas del Cerrado y la Mata Atlantica
•Tití león dorado
•Guacamayo de Spix
•Mono muriquí
•Guacamayo jacinto

Notable threatened species

•Mono leon dorado (En Peligro, recuperado desde Peligro Critico)
•Jaguar (Casi Amenazado, en declive por perdida de habitat)
•Delfin rosado del Amazonas (En Peligro)
•40% de la biodiversidad del este de Brasil en riesgo por cambio climatico segun proyecciones a 2060

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional de Iguazu
•Reserva de la Biosfera del Cinturon Verde de Sao Paulo
•Complejo de Areas Protegidas de la Amazonia Central
•Parque Nacional do Jaú
•Pantanal Matogrossense
•Parque Nacional da Chapada dos Veadeiros
•Parque Nacional do Iguaçu
•Archipiélago de Fernando de Noronha
•Parque Nacional dos Lençóis Maranhenses

Main conservation threats

•Deforestacion (especialmente en la Amazonia y el Cerrado)
•Incendios (84% de las areas quemadas en 2023 tenian vegetacion nativa)
•Cambio climatico (extincion proyectada del 40% de biodiversidad en el este del pais para 2060)
•Expansion agricola y ganadera
•Mineria ilegal

Notable natural phenomena

•Pulso de inundacion anual del Pantanal, que regula la biodiversidad del humedal
•Floracion sincronizada de ipes en el Cerrado tras la estacion seca

Conservation

Spix's macaw became extinct in the wild in the year 2000 and has begun to be reintroduced into the Caatinga from birds bred in captivity in Europe. Deforestation of the Amazon and the Cerrado, driven by cattle and soy, remains the country's greatest environmental problem.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The northern Pantanal between July and October for jaguars along the riverbanks. Amazonia at high water to travel the flooded forest by canoe. Fernando de Noronha year-round for spinner dolphins and turtles.

Sources: BioDB.com - Brasil | Change The Chamber - Beautiful Brazil | Nature Scientific Reports - Biodiversity conservation gaps in Brazilian PAs | Wikipedia - Araucaria/Alto Parana Atlantic forests

Savanna Rainforest Grassland Freshwater Ocean

Natural phenomena in Brazil

Mejor época para avistar jaguares en el Pantanal — Junio a octubre (estación seca)
Mejor época para avistar nutrias gigantes en el Pantanal — Junio a septiembre (estación seca)
Mejor época para avistar delfines rosados del Amazonas — Junio a noviembre (estación de aguas bajas)

Parks and reserves

National Park

Pantanal Matogrossense

The protected core of the largest tropical wetland on the planet, shared with Bolivia and Paraguay

View park National Park

Chapada dos Veadeiros

Quartzite plateaux of the Goiás Cerrado, one of the oldest tropical ecosystems on the planet.

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Emas

One of the best places in the world to watch bioluminescent termite mounds during the rainy season

View park Marine National Park

Fernando de Noronha

A volcanic archipelago with strict daily visitor limits; waters with the greatest concentration of spinner dolphins in the world

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Iguaçu

The Iguaçu Falls and the largest remnant of interior Atlantic Forest, on the border with Argentina.

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Iguaçu (lado brasileño)

The Iguaçu Falls, 275 separate cataracts, among the greatest curtains of water on the planet

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Jaú

One of the largest rainforest parks in the world, the core of the Central Amazon Conservation Complex.

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Iguaçu National Park

The Brazilian side of the Iguaçu Falls, with the largest stretch of protected Atlantic Forest in the country.

View park World Heritage Site (Natural)

Reservas del Bosque Atlántico de la Costa del Descubrimiento

Eight protected areas in Bahia and Espírito Santo where the Portuguese landed in 1500, holding the Atlantic Forest richest in tree species in the world.

View park World Heritage Site (Natural)

Reservas del Bosque Atlántico del Sudeste

Twenty-five protected areas in São Paulo and Paraná that preserve the largest continuous expanse of Atlantic Forest.

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Diving and snorkelling

Reef/Wall

Fernando de Noronha

An archipelago formed by the volcanic peaks of a submerged ocean ridge. Its waters are a breeding and feeding ground for tuna, sharks, turtles and marine mammals, and the visibility ranks among the best in the South Atlantic.

View dive site Rocky reef/Wreck