Brazil is one of the best countries on the planet for anyone with a passion for wildlife. With a third of the country covered by the Amazon, and the rest a mix of the swamps of the Pantanal, the grasslands of the Cerrado, the Atlantic Rainforest, the Amazon’s little brother, and the steep mountains that skirt the coastline, an equally diverse array of animals call this country home.

Spotting these animals on your next trip there can involve luck, skill, a good guide (if you’re on tour) and going to specific locations. This list will give you an overview of the top animals to spot in this vast country and what specific locations are best for them, as well as any other relevant information.

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Animals of the Amazon region

The lungs of the world are what many people think of when they think of Brazilian animals. Despite all the headline-hitting deforestation that has gone on for many years, the Amazon still covers an area larger than Europe, harbouring the world’s longest river, France’s longest land border and tribes whose only knowledge of the outside world is a sighting of a passing helicopter. While there are plenty of opportunities for adventure of an extreme calibre, an established tour industry means travelling there for a quick trip isn’t too difficult either.

In Brazil, the main access point for the Amazon is Manuas, a city smack-dab in the centre. There are various agencies and tour outfits offering trips into the rainforest, from five-star lodges and cruises upriver, to camps with backpacker dorms and tents. 

Amazon River Dolphin

The Amazon might not be the first place one thinks of when wanting to live out that dream of swimming with dolphins (especially considering some of the subsequent additions to this list) but certain groups have become so acquainted with humans that now many tour operators offer it as part of their standard activity packages. Of course, calling it “standard” would simply not be true: the sight of one of these bright pink beauties springing out of the murky water within selfie distance has to be one of the greatest wildlife experiences out there.

Piranhas

How to spot one: stick your finger in the river.

Just kidding, because for one thing, most piranhas don’t actually live up to the “chew anything that moves” stereotype. Some don’t even eat meat, and those that do would typically only attack already injured animals. And even then, it would take a very hungry piranha to attack something as large as a human. For another, tourists are almost always the hunter: fishing for piranhas with a traditional bamboo pole, and then having them for dinner, is a popular activity out here.

Anaconda

A snake that had legendary status long before Nicki Minaj’s single dropped, the world’s heaviest snake is a prime target for many visitors to Brazil. Unfortunately, they’re very difficult to see: their camouflage and tendency to stay in the water means getting a quick glimpse of one is difficult, let alone being able to appreciate their girthy coils. As a result, while this snake can theoretically be found all over Brazil, there don’t exist any hotspots in this country. A better alternative is to visit Bolivia’s “pampas” – an area of swampland near Rurrenabaque in the north, and who knows why they called it that. Visiting this area between the months of May and October will give you the best chance, since there will be less water for them to hide in and many tours have offer “anaconda searching” as an activity.

Sloths

The only animal to be named after one of the seven deadly sins and one that moves so slowly it has an entire ecosystem of algae living in its fur – fun facts come easily to sloths. They’re not actually all that easy to spot since that algae provides a type of camouflage, plus their slow speed means they spend ages at a time staying inconspicuously still. Local guides, with their years of experience, should know what to look out for.

Scarlet macaw

One of the Amazon’s most beautiful birds, the scarlet macaw is one of the only birds to have every primary colour in its feathers. With a wingspan of one metre and a tendency to nest in the tallest trees close to rivers, scarlet macaws are often seen by visitors – including those who travel on the slow boat from Manaus to the tri-border area of Brazil, Colombia and Peru, a boat journey that usually doesn’t otherwise turn up many wildlife sightings. Oftentimes they’ll be seen in pairs, since these macaws mate for life.

Monkeys

The Amazon is a fantastic place for primate lovers, with over 50 species of monkeys being recorded here. These range from hear-them-before-you-see-them howler monkeys to the world’s smallest monkey, the dwarf marmoset, whose babies can comfortably sit on an index finger. While spotting most of them is a matter of luck, one you are very likely to encounter is the squirrel monkey, as this curious primate often peeks its head out at passing boats. 

Hoatzin

Thankfully for people who want to see this extraordinary bird, several things about it make it easy to find when visiting the Amazon: it lives in groups, forming colonies of up to 10-15 individuals, which are always located near water. This real estate isn’t just for the lakeside views: hoatzin chicks are able to swim and can then climb branches using claws on their wings, creating an effective defense against predators. If its awkward, shuffling movements through the branches (it’s a poor flier) or loud booming calls don’t give it away, its pungent odour will: this bird is also known as the stinkbird, since it has a digestive system not dissimilar from a cow. This is also why humans don’t hunt it, and by extension, why it has no fear of humans.

Animals of Brazil’s Pantanal and Cerrado regions

A vast expanse of open ground covers central Brazil – arid in the east and swampy in the west, these biomes are known as the cerrado and Pantanal respectively. Many of the two biomes’ animals overlap, so are amalgamated here. Furthermore, many of the Pantanal’s animals can also be found in the Amazon, but because of the open terrain they’re much easier to see here.

The Pantanal has two main access points: Cuiaba serves the north, and also a portion of the southern Amazon, while Campo Grande serves the southern half. The south is a bit drier and more developed, and also cheaper to visit – if you’d like a backpacker-friendly guide to visiting the Pantanal on a budget, I’ve got you covered. However, the north is better for jaguars. The cerrado’s best national parks are typically accessed from either Belo Horizonte in Minas Gerais, or the capital Brasilia. 

Jaguar

The largest cat in the Americas can, in theory, be found anywhere from northern Argentina to the tip of Texas, munching on anything that moves – fish, caiman, capybara, cattle. Your only realistic chance of seeing one though is in Brazil’s Pantanal, with a particular spot in the north being especially good. Along the riverbanks near the village of Porto Jofre, a large population of resident jaguars has become so used to the sight and sound of fishing boats that they allow for up-close views. As a result, visitors often leave with multiple different sightings under their belts. Trying your luck for them in the southern Pantanal is more of a gamble, but river trips along the Rio Miranda and night safaris at Fazenda San Francisco do turn them up far more frequently than any Amazon tour.

Capybara

The world’s largest rodent is a prized target for every visitor to the Pantanal, and to say this region of Brazil delivers would be an understatement. With thousands of them, practically every visitor loses count of how many they’ve seen quite soon into any trip. Additionally, many major Brazilian cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Campo Grande have at least one park where a resident group of capybaras can be found grazing on the lawn.

Caimans

Like capybaras, you would have to work extremely hard to not see hundreds of caiman on a trip to the Pantanal. With an estimated ten million individuals in this area, you’ll find them in practically any body of water, babies and adults alike. While related to crocodiles and alligators, caimans differ based on their snout shape and small size – because of the latter, they rarely eat anything bigger than fish.

Toco toucan

There are various species of toucans in Brazil and the rest of South America, but the toco toucan is the one everyone thinks of. This bird’s infamously large beak makes it quite conspicuous as it swoops from one cluster of trees to another, looking for fruits and eggs to eat – otherwise, do a quick scan of any trees you come across. The naked eye should suffice in most cases since this bird rarely tries to hide, but binoculars will definitely come in handy.

Hyacinth Macaw

This dark blue parrot is the world’s largest, with its body and tail reaching a combined one metre in length. Despite the fact that they’re endangered, they’re not particularly difficult to see if you’re in the right area. Farms and lodges often have a wooden platform full of bananas which they visit daily, and the sight of them perching on fence posts or feeding around cows is one of the Pantanal’s classic scenes.

Giant otter

The Pantanal is a mecca for large animals – how many times have I said “largest” on this list so far? In any case, I’m about to do it again: the world’s largest member of the weasel family (at two metres long) can often be found patrolling the waterways of the Pantanal. Look out for family groups poking their heads above the water, since they tend to frantically dive and resurface asynchronously. Giant otters are also one of the few mammals that are exclusively diurnal.

Maned wolf

The maned wolf has the fur of a fox and the body of a wolf, save for its giraffe-like long legs and black back that give it its maned appearance (in reality, this fur is the same length as the rest). Maned wolves inhabit grasslands and the drier parts of the Pantanal, using their long legs to spot and hunt rodents. While they are difficult to spot in most of their range, one place where you’re almost guaranteed a sighting is Santuario do Caraca, where habituated individuals come to feed right in front of spectating visitors. 

Greater rhea

This ostrich-like bird is the largest in the Americas. They can typically be found in open fields in the southern Pantanal, including the farmland that characterises much of this part of Brazil given their taste for crops. Farmers are of course none too pleased, but this bird is numerous enough that they’re not endangered. Because of their size, you’re likely to see them even if they’re a fair distance away. There is even a group that likes to hang around Brazil’s presidential palace, one of which pecked Bolsonaro during his self-isolation.

Giant anteater

The biomass of ants in the world is greater than that of all the birds and mammals combined, and the fact that an animal the size of a small bear can subsist off a diet of ants and termites alone is testament to that. Giant anteaters roam the open plains on their knuckles, keeping their powerful claws to the air and saving them for the rock hard termite mounds that pockmark the fields. The best places to look for them are cattle farms in the southern Pantanal and Bonito, and Serra do Canastra National Park in Minas Gerais. Because of their open terrain and the fact that anteaters are active even at high noon, the chances of spotting them around here are good.

Southern tamandua

A smaller but arguably more colourful relative of the giant anteater, the southern tamandua is a tree-dwelling animal that mainly comes out at night. Its ability to climb trees allows it to reach ant nests out of reach of its giant relative and gives it a distribution that spans all of northern South America. The best way to find one is usually to go on one of the night safaris that many Pantanal lodges provide, though they can sometimes be seen during the daytime in this part of Brazil too.

Brazilian tapir

With a body like a rhinoceros and a mini trunk for a nose, tapirs are another of South America’s strange and large creatures that inhabit this part of Brazil. The Brazilian tapir is the largest land mammal in South America, weighing up to 225 kg (for reference, an exceptionally large jaguar would weigh up to 150 kg). Despite its bulky size, the Brazilian tapir is an excellent swimmer, using the water to avoid predators. You’re most likely to see them hanging around rivers and lakes for that reason. However, and unexpectedly since the area is very dry, they have also been known to climb the steps at Santuario do Caraca for the food at the top like the maned wolves.

Ocelot

Most people will have first heard of this small cat through Minecraft, and while the ocelot can indeed be found in the rainforest, its range also extends into the southern Pantanal and even some of the Caribbean islands. The roseatte pattern that lines its back gives it the perfect camouflage when hunting at night – which unfortunately also makes it somewhat difficult to see. Night safaris at Fazenda San Francisco will give you the best chance, as the abundance of rodents in their rice fields have led to an unusually high population of resident ocelots.

Blue and yellow macaw

One of the world’s most popular pets can be found soaring around much of Brazil. Many of its wild counterparts have a good relationship with humans, with several Brazilian cities (including Campo Grande and Cuiaba) having resident flocks in their parks and trees. 

Red and green macaw

This macaw is similar to the scarlet macaw, but is distinguishable by the lack of yellow on its wings. While it can be found throughout much of the Amazon and Pantanal, the best place to see them is Buraco das Araras in Bonito. And that isn’t just because of the odds of success: this place offers the chance to gaze down into a hundred-metre-deep sinkhole and witness pairs, sometimes flocks, of these brightly coloured birds swirling around. 

Aquatic fish in Bonito

Bonito’s streams are a world apart from those of the Amazon and Pantanal: they’re crystal-clear and inhabited only by shoals of harmless fish, and as a result snorkeling these streams has become a must-do activity when visiting Brazil. Because Bonito has sought to keep this tourism sustainable, there’s a limit on daily visitor numbers at each snorkelling site. The process of booking a slot can be a little convoluted and would burst the frames of this paragraph, so if you want to visit you should read this guide to Bonito by yours’ truly.

Animals of the Atlantic Rainforest regions

The Atlantic Rainforest spans an area that covers almost all of Brazil’s coastline, from the tri-border area where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet, all the way to the northeastern Brazilian nobble on which sits Recife. Sitting in close proximity to Brazil’s major settlements including Sao Paulo, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro has meant this forest has undergone a copious amount of deforestation, but much of what remains is well protected nowadays. Moreover, it provides a more accessible alternative to the Amazon.

Golden lion tamarin

This small golden monkey is only found in a small area to the east of Rio de Janeiro. An endangered species, it faces multiple threats: poaching for the illegal pet trade, habitat destruction and yellow fever are the main ones. In spite of all this, a successful conservation program has seen its numbers recover, and now they can be found in a number of sites in eastern Rio de Janeiro state. One of the best, and cheapest since it’s free to enter, is Parque Natural Municipal do Mico Leao Dourado, about an hour outside of the resort town of Buzios.

Channel-billed toucan & Red-breasted toucan

These two colourful toucan species bear mention since they can often be found in the botanical gardens of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (channel and red-billed respectively). Looking for them is a great way to get stuck into Brazil’s nature if you’ve just landed in the country and are eager to get started.

Festive coquette

Yes, that is the name of this hummingbird species. Males use their long cheek feathers in mating displays to impress females, and can otherwise make for quite beautiful photography subjects. The best place to see them is Sitio Folha Seca outside Ubatuba, where you’ll find the house of a bloke who feeds them on a daily basis. While it may seem a little odd to rock up to a private house to look at hummingbirds, he’s quite used to receiving visitors at this point!

Scarlet ibis

This red-orange bird is mainly found in the Caribbean, but a small population inexplicably exists in southeastern Brazil too, from the mangroves of Santos near Sao Paulo, to the bay of Joinville further west. Visiting either one of these sites is bound to turn up sightings of them flying around, even if they are only bright red dots in the distance.

Plush crested jay

I would have honestly loved to have been the naturalist who clapped eyes upon this bird’s hair and thought “hmm, looks plush, I should base the name off of this”. Another unusual fact about this magpie-like bird is that after the chicks have flown the nest, they help their parents in rearing the next generation. Flocks of them can be found hanging around Iguazu Falls, so spotting them can be combined with the jaw-dropping sight of thousands of gallons of water tumbling over the chasm every second.

Brazilian cavy (aka wild guinea pigs)

This wild ancestor of the guinea pig is much more shy and smaller, and inhabits much of Brazil’s grasslands. The reason I mention it here is that it can be found rather easily at Iguazu Falls – you might have more luck on the Argentinian side, where they’re more liable to grazing around shops and houses.

Swallow-tailed manakin

Brazil’s rainforests are full of colourful birds, but what sets this one apart from the rest is its mating dance. Not only is it exquisite, but it also involves the use of wingmen: performing a routine with plenty of practice beforehand, a small group of supporting males work with a lead male to increase his odds of mating with a spectating female. Netflix featured this dance in one of their documentaries.

Common marmoset

These small monkeys with tufts lining their ears are a regular sight at many of Rio de Janeiro’s tourist attractions, including Sugarloaf Mountain, Duque de Caxias Fort and the Jardim Botanico, as well as leafy neighbourhoods. Common marmosets are actually native to the northeast of Brazil and were brought here as pets, released when their owners got bored of them. Despite their invasive status and the fact that their presence has threatened native birds and monkeys, their popularity means they’ll likely be here to stay.

Photo credits

• Anaconda (Eunectes murinus)” by ferjflores is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Dolphin man” by Zemlinki! is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Piranha Fishing” by Nagyman is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
• “Up-Close Sloth” by marissa_strniste is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “A scarlet macaw enjoying breakfast” by takashi muramatsu is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Squirrel Monkey” by Phillie Casablanca is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Hoatzin (Opisthocomus hoazin)” by Gregory ‘Slobirdr’ Smith is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
• “Jaguar in the Pantanal” by Bart vanDorp is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Southern Tamandua (Tamandua tetradactyla)” by berniedup is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
• “File:Lophornis chalybeus 1.jpg” by https://www.flickr.com/photos/dariosanches/ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
• “File:Ramphastos dicolorus -São Paulo-SP, Brasil-8.jpg” by Dario Sanches is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
• “‘Chiroxiphia caudata’ Swallow-tailed Manakin, Manakin à longue queue, Blaubrustpipra” by quitbanana is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “in Peruvian Amazon Rainforest” by Anna & Michal is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Rio Pixaim – Pantanal do Mato Grosso.” by Marinelson Almeida Silva is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
• “Pão de Açúcar / Sugarloaf Mountain” by Rodrigo_Soldon is licensed under CC BY 2.0.