SBS - Wildest Latin America (2013) Part 4 The Pantanal Brazils Wild Heart. 28/03/2013 19:29:37

Wildest Latin America

Through beautiful photography and the extraordinary stories of the animals and people that live there, this series celebrates Latin America’s most iconic and dramatic locations. It’s taken millions of years for animals to adapt to places as different as the high Andes and the sweltering Amazon; the windblown Patagonian steppe and the swamps of Venezuela. The result is an incredible diversity of species – from army ants to armadillos, jaguars to giant otters. Each has developed a unique way to stay alive; yet each must fit in to a complex jigsaw of life. We reveal the extraordinary behaviors and adaptations that are key to survival and success. People have had far less time to carve out a living, yet with ingenuity and determination, they too have found ways to make the most of what the continent has to offer. Incredible lifestyles continue to this day. We follow individual hunters and fishermen as they demonstrate the skills of their people. And we unveil the strange, sometimes painful rituals that determine the identity of Latin America’s diverse people. Each program ties together the latest revelations about life in this continent of extremes. These stories combine to give a fascinating, exciting and in-depth understanding of Latin America’s most spectacular places.

Part 4: The Pantanal Brazils Wild Heart

In the centre of South America is a vast, wild expanse - the world’s largest wetland. But this is no ordinary swamp. Every year it’s drowned by immense floods, then parched by severe drought. Yet while people struggle to cope, the Pantanal hosts some of the greatest gatherings of animals on the planet, rivalling Africa’s spectacular wildlife. As the dry season takes hold, caiman gather to breed and fish – forming the greatest concentration of reptiles on earth. Rare Giant River Otters have found refuge here and patrol the waterways in family packs. With so much food on offer, jaguars flourish - growing to be the largest in Latin America. Surviving groups of Bororo Indians join together in fishing parties, using age-old techniques to harvest the Pantanal’s riches. When the rains come the Pantanal sinks under 5m of water, and one of the world’s largest waterfalls, Foz do Iguacu, becomes a breath-taking spectacle.

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