Giant River Otters - Pantanal, Brazil

Giant River Otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) - Pantanal, Brazil

Fifteen or twenty minutes after our Jaguar sighting, we came across a group of Giant River Otters at their den. This was the first of two sightings we had of this rare species. Photographs of the second sighting are available here. When we came across them, they had just come out of their den and stepped into the water.

More photographs inside.

Vermilion Flycatcher - Pantanal, Brazil

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus) - Pantanal, Brazil

We first saw the Vermilion Flycatcher about 40-50 meters away, as a red blur streaking around the shrubs while feeding on insects. It was quite a distance away and we couldn't really see the bird but the colour was unmistakable. I also saw the bird on our last day in the Pantanal when it flew into the garden of our lodge and let me photograph it for a few minutes.

More photographs inside.

Iguazu Falls - Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Iguazu Falls - Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

Iguazu Falls, one of the three great waterfalls of the world, was our last stop in Brazil and the first in Argentina. Since most of the waterfall flows over the Argentinian side of the border, you get stunnig view of it from Brazil. The sheer size of the waterfall, the edge is 2.7km long, and the volume of water pouring over it, is mind boggling. Its maximum recorded flow is 12,800 cubic meters per second!

More photographs, including a few panoramas, inside.

Black Howler Monkeys - Amazon, Brazil

Howler Monkey (Alouatta caraya) - Amazon, Brazil

The first animals we saw at our lodge on the Rio Negro were two baby Howler Monkeys. Their mothers had been shot for bush meet and the staff at the lodge had brought the babies to the lodge to care for them. They were allowed to roam around all day and were only locked up in a small room for the night.

more photographs of them inside.