After a year in the planning, I spent three months in the north of Mato Grosso state working as part of a team guiding ecotourists at the Cristalino Jungle Lodge and Cristalino Private Nature Reserve, part of the southern extreme of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest.
Along with 410 species of birds – including the majestic harpy eagle – I also encountered a host of fantastic mammals, from spider monkeys, caimans and tapirs to anteaters, marmosets and tayras.
The photos in this album are just a taster of the wildlife extravaganza that awaits you in Brazil’s phenomenal rainforest.
-
- Harpy eagle with prey – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve. Photo by Jorge the Boatman
-
- Tapir – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Through the scope: Blue-and-yellow macaw
-
- Brown capuchin monkey – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Curl-crested araçari – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Harpy eagle with prey – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve. Photo by Jorge the Boatman
-
- Spectacled caiman – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Leaf-legged bug – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Black-bellied cuckoo – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Caterpillar – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Heliconid butterfly on wild pineapple – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Crested owl – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Sunbittern on the Rio Cristalino
-
- Yellow-spotted river turtle – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Two-toed sloth – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- White-winged swallow on the Rio Cristalino
-
- Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- 50m tower – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Rio Cristalino
-
- Sunrise over Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- White-bellied parrot – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Rio Teles Pires
-
- Panning for gold on the Rio Teles Pires
-
- Sunset on the Rio Teles Pires
-
- Fresh Brazil nuts
-
- Fresh Brazil nuts
-
- Milkweed beetles – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Caiman in the Rio Cristalino
-
- Vine snake – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Through the scope: Red-and-green macaw
-
- Brazilian giant whiteknee tarantula – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Dusky-billed parrotlet – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Giant green iguana – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
-
- Kayaking on the Rio Cristalino
-
- Through the scope: White-throated toucan – Cristalino Private Nature Reserve
Ben Tavener 