Outside Voices at the ADK-GVC Chapter Meeting

The Adirondack Mountain Club-Genesee Valley Chapter's free and open to the public meeting includes:

6:30 pm Workshop: Secret Rochester
Author Robin L. Flanigan will be talking about her new book, Secret Rochester: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure. In addition to learning about interesting spots in our region, representatives from two of those places, the Lincon Branch and Toy Library, and the Lilac Nature Connection will be on hand to chat with folk about what they have to offer.

7:30pm Presentation:

## The Pantanal

### by Jerry Miller

In the middle of South America , in southwest Brazil lies a region known as the Pantanal. The Pantanal is the Worlds largest tropical wetland and seasonal floodplain. It covers an estimated area of between 54,000 to 81,000 square miles or about 43.5 million acres, roughly the size of the U.S. state of Washington. The majority of the Pantanal, about 80%, is in the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sol. The remaining 20% extends into Bolivia and Paraguay. During the rainy season, November through March, the Pantanal receives an average rainfall of between 40 – 60 inches, turning the lowlands into a giant shallow inland sea, raising water levels several meters and making many roads impassable.

While not as well known as the Amazon to the north, the Pantanal is one of the most biologically rich environments on the planet with more than 4700 plant and animal species.The World Wildlife Fund for Nature estimates there are 650 species of birds, 159 species of mammals and 98 species of reptiles in the Pantanal. The Pantanal contains South America’s highest concentration of some iconic wildlife species, including jaguars, caiman and giant river otters.

Jaguars in the Pantanal are about twice the size of jaguars in other regions of South or Central America. Adult males in this area range between 220-280 lbs with the largest pushing 300 lbs. The Pantanal also has the highest concentration of jaguars in the world with some areas reaching up to 12 individuals per 38 square miles. About 90% of a jaguars diet in this area is made up of caiman. The caiman population in the Pantanal is estimated to be 10 million.

In August of this year, I spent ten days traveling in the Northern Pantanal photographing the unique and amazing wildlife that calls the Pantanal home. The majority time was spent in a long, narrow motorboat called a voadeira, exploring the Cuiaba and Piquiri Rivers and their various tributaries and channels, in search of jaguars and other wildlife.

In my presentation I will describe where and what constitutes the Pantanal and some of the challenges it faces. I’ll talk about my trip to get there, places I stayed and my travels in the Pantanal. My presentation will include many images of the wildlife I photographed and I’ll share some interesting facts about these unique creatures.