Brazil Flora and Fauna

Within Brazil’s diverse range of ecosystems is tucked away approximately one-fifth of the world’s flora and fauna. South America separated from the other continents over 100 million years ago and has been reconnected with North America for only a few million years. As a result, its animal and plant life have developed in relative isolation, and Brazil itself contains hundreds of endemic species; among birds alone, there are over 200 species that do not live in the wild anywhere else in the world. The Amazon rainforest has been an unusually stable ecosystem, largely because the last Ice Age did not extend to this part of the globe. Very specialized evolution among indigenous plants and animals has also occurred in this region because there have been no prolonged periods of drought. It is estimated that within 2.6 sq. km of the Amazon up to 3000 different species of plant and animal may be found. Another incredible concentration of wildlife is the Pantanal, the sprawling marshlands—roughly half the size of France—of the Center-West, which extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. While there are not quite as many different species of animal here as in the Amazon, the Pantanal is often better for seeing wildlife because, during the rainy season (Oct.-Mar.), much of the area floods and animals shelter together on the remaining dry patches. Although the Mata Atlântica (Atlantic Rainforest) has— as a result of logging, clearing for agriculture, and ranching—been reduced to less than 1% of its original size, its remaining canopy forest and bamboo groves (mainly around Rio and São Paulo) are important habitats for many endangered species. Unfortunately, the Mata Atlântica is not the only forest to face destruction due to logging: the Amazon is undergoing rapid deforestation and destruction of ecosystems. Because the rainforest is so heterogeneous, the valuable trees that loggers seek to extract (like mahogany) often grow singly. In the process of cutting them down and removing them, all of the surrounding vegetation and habitat is destroyed. Another unfortunate result of this process is that the forest floor becomes littered with deadwood, which greatly increases the chance of forest fires.

Plants

Brazil actually gets its name from the brazilwood tree (pau-brasil), valued by early Portuguese explorers for the brilliant red dye that could be extracted from its core. The country’s biodiversity ...more

Animals

Brazil’s wildlife is far from completely catalogued. Among those animals that have been identified are over 600 species of mammal, more than 2500 species of freshwater fish, more than 700,000 ...more