Brazil: A Natural History

The grassland that covers the central region of Brazil is the country’s least known habitat, depending on dramatic summer thunderstorms and fire for its character. The maned wolf is a long-legged and strange predator – it spends half the year feeding on fruit while at other times it hunts insects and rodents. The giant anteater is the most charmingly ridiculous animal on Earth – it has no teeth but feeds on termites using a hugely long tongue. Termites build dramatic mounds that dot the landscape. They are fire and rain proof with concrete hard walls, but the giant anteater has the means to open them. However, the termites’ greatest enemies are bands of aggressive ants. The burrowing owl uses the termite mounds as a look out post – to hunt crickets and grasshoppers. They nest underground in burrows made by strange armadillos. Capuchin monkeys live on the cliffs that overlook the scrub and grassland. They are remarkably smart animals, collecting palm fruits and taking them to traditional spots where they smash them open using an anvil and hammer-stone.