Breeds of The Pantanal
The world's largest tropical wetland, where cattle have grazed seasonal floodplains alongside wildlife for more than two centuries.
Breeds of this place
Best time: July to October, the dry season.
The Pantanal is a huge seasonal wetland, mostly in western Brazil, that floods in the rainy season and drains to open grassland in the dry. Cattle ranching has been the main way of life here since the eighteenth century. Pantaneiro cowboys drive herds between high and low ground as the waters rise and fall, using a long cattle horn, the berrante, to call them.
The Pantaneiro breed
Pantaneiro cattle, also called Tucura, descend from cattle brought by Spanish and Portuguese settlers. Over centuries they adapted to heat, floods and long periods standing in water. They are small and hardy. Today most herds in the Pantanal are zebu, mainly Nelore, and the Pantaneiro is rare, kept by a public agricultural research centre in Corumbá and a few ranches.
Ranches and wildlife
Ranches, called fazendas, hold most of the land. Cattle grazing on the natural grasslands has gone on alongside jaguars, capybaras, caimans and giant otters. Many ranches now also host visitors. Large wildfires in recent years and changes in flooding have raised concern for the future of the wetland.
A trail idea for The Pantanal
- Corumbá The river port on the Paraguay river, gateway to the southern Pantanal.
- Estrada Parque A dirt road across the wetland, with herds and wildlife.
- A fazenda A working ranch with cowboys, horses and herds.
Written by the EveryCow desk with AI assistance. Background: "Pantanal" on Wikipedia. Fair dates, markets and visiting rules change; check locally before travelling, and keep a respectful distance from working animals. If something is wrong, tell us.
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