Very little information on the mammals of the Pantanal is readily available to the local guides in the region.  This is, among others, due to the fact that most studies carried out in the Pantanal, as well as the rest of Brazil, are being published in foreign international magazines (typically in English or German) that are impossible to find in the Pantanal region and are never translated into Portuguese.  The following text is not meant to be scientific but primarily a help to the local guides of the Pantanal region.

The text contains some basic information about the animals like: the English name, the scientific name in italic and in brackets, the Brazilian name mostly used in the Pantanal region (BR); head and body length (HB), tail length (T); shoulder height (SH); weight (WT); description; length of pregnancy (gestation period); how many young (litter size); and how threatened the animal is (status).  Besides, for each mammal I have given some additional specific information, such as about habits that I have considered would be interesting for a guide to know.  To make the information easier to remember the measurements and other data used are often rounded off compared with the cited literature and should therefore not be taken as exact.  The size of the mammals in this text often varies greatly within their whole range.  For example, the average weight of an adult male jaguar in Belize is 56 kg and in Pantanal 103 kg.  Where possible, either by quoting specific studies from the Pantanal or studies carried out in adjacent areas, I give the measurements most likely to be found on the animals of the Pantanal region.  In these cases I have then sometimes also mentioned in brackets the maximum measurements of species.  For example, WT = 25-55 (120) kg means that individuals from the Pantanal population of this species will most likely weigh between 25-55 kg, but the species elsewhere in its range might weigh as much as 120 kg.

This list of mammals of the Pantanal is not complete.  I have chosen to include only the bigger mammals likely to be recognized by the local guides and therefore the list excludes bats (Chiroptera), from rodent order (Rodentia) only includes larger members of the cavylike rodent suborder (Caviomorpha) and the squirrel family (Sciuridae), and excludes smaller rat-sized members of the opossum family (Didelphi-dae).

Status of species according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):
Appendix I: Species currently threatened with extinction
Appendix II: May come threatened with extinction unless trade is regulated
Appendix III: Species regulated for conservation purposes by particular countries

SPECIES   ACCOUNTS

Monkeys (Primates)

Black howler (Alouatta caraya); (BR) Bugio
* HB = 40 ­ 60 cm;  T = 55 ­ 65;  WT = 3 ­ 10 kg;  males larger than females; males black, females yellowish brown; prehensile tail.
* Diurnal.  All South American monkeys are primarily arboreal and the larger species, including the black howler, have developed a strongly prehensile tail.  In the Pantanal the black howler favours gallery forest and deciduous forest, where it occurs in troops of up to nineteen individuals.  In the Pantanal, however, the average troop size is around seven members.  A troop might contain several adult males who are graded after age.  All young are born yellowish like the females and only after four and a half years the male will change into black.  The black howler is one of the most  specialized feeders of all neotropical monkeys and although it will also feed on fruits, the diet consist mainly on leaves.  It spends most of its time resting in the top of tall trees.  Howler monkeys, especially the males, have an adaptation in their jaw that allows them to howl deeply and loudly.  They will typically do this early in the morning and in the late afternoon; probably to mark their territory.  In the wild this monkey might live up to twenty years.
* Gestation period = 6 months; litter size = 1 ­ 2
* Status: CITES  Appendix II

Brown capuchin monkey (Cebus apella); (BR) Macaco-prego
* HB = 35 ­ 50 cm; T = 35 ­ 50 cm; WT = 1.7 ­ 4.5 kg; males larger than females; yellowish brown with dark cap; prehensile tail.
* Diurnal.  This capuchin is the most widespread of all neotropical monkeys and can be found in many different types of forest.  It lives in troops of 3 ­ 20 members with an average of 8 in the Pantanal.   Each group has an older dominant male that will not allow the others males to mate.  It is omnivorous and feeds on fruits, seeds, palm nuts, insects, eggs and small vertebrates including bird nestlings and lizards.  In the dry season of the Pantanal when there is scarcity of food this species might forage on the ground.  Young are carried on the back of their mother the first two months of their life. Males become sexually mature after seven years.
* Gestation period = 160 days; litter size = 1
* Status: CITES Appendix II

Dusky titi monkey (Callicebus moloch); (BR) Sauá
* HB = 25 ­ 35 cm; T = 35 ­ 45 cm; WT = 0.7 ­ 1.4 kg; upperparts pale grey; underparts yellow; furry; dark face; nonprehensile tail.
* Diurnal.  The highly vocal dusky titi lives in groups of 2 ­ 5 individuals.  Its diet consists of fruits as well as leaves and insects.  It is found in dense vegetation on water edges, swamp forest, deciduous forest and bamboo forest (since it is fond of bamboo leaves).  Like most arboreal folivores it spends most of its time resting.  This monkey is probably only found in the eastern parts of the Pantanal.
* Litter size = 1 ­ 2
* Status: CITES Appendix II

Night Monkey (Aotus trivirgatus); (BR) Boca-d'agua
* HB = 25 ­ 45 cm; T = 20 ­ 40 cm; WT = 0.8 ­ 1.3 kg; white face with very big eyes; three back stripes on crown; upperparts grey; underparts yellow; nonprehensile tail.
* Nocturnal.  Inhabiting a wide variety of forests, this small monkey is frugivo rous, but will also feed on insects.  Usually it lives in small groups of two to five individuals, it is monogamous.  It is most common along edges of rivers and open areas.  From two weeks after the young has been born the male carries it most of the time.
* Litter size = 1
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Silvery marmoset (Callithrix argentata); (BR) Sauim, Saguí
* HB = 20 ­ 30 cm; T = 25 ­ 35 cm; WT = 380 ­ 500 g; silvery grey; dark face; dark non-prehensile tail.
* Diurnal.  The smallest monkey of the Pantanal, the silvery marmoset, is found in the Pantanal  in a wide variety of habitats, including gallery forest, deciduous forest and semi-deciduous forest.  It will even come to the ground to forage or cross an open area.  This tiny monkey lives in groups of three to eight individuals.  The groups usually have only one adult female who does not allow the younger females to reproduce.  The female typically gives birth to twins and the whole group will take care of the young who will most often ride on the back of the males.  The marmosets have specialized lower jaws and teeth that they use to bite holes in the bark of threes and vines.  They feed on the sap that collects in these holes.  Besides, the silvery marmoset will feed on insects.  Instead of having nails like most monkeys the marmosets have claws and they are agile climbers.
* Litter size = 2
* Status: CITES Appendix II

Carnivores (Carnivora)

Jaguar (Onca panthera); (BR) Onça-pintada
* HB = 125 ­ 155 cm; T = 55 ­ 60 cm; WT = 60 ­ 158 kg; males larger than females; biggest cat in Latin America; yellow spotted black.
* Although smaller than the lion and the tiger, the jaguar is known to have the most powerful jaws of all cats.  The subspecies of the Pantanal (O. p. palustris) is the largest of all jaguars with an average weight for adult males of 103 kg.  This is almost twice the size of jaguar in Belize.  The biggest jaguar caught in Pantanal weighted no less than 158 kg.  The jaguar is solitary and prefers habitats close to water, especially gallery forest.  The jaguar has the reputation of being strictly nocturnal, but studies in the Pantanal with radio monitoring and satellite use have clearly shown that the jaguar is as active during the day time, including the crepuscular hours, as at night time.  It feeds on mostly anything, ranging from tapirs, deers, peccaries, capybaras and anteaters to caimans, fish and big birds like rhea and jabiru.  Unfortunately the jaguar is also fond of the cattle in the Pantanal and for that reason it is being hunted by the farmers.  The locals in the Pantanal can tell you many scary stories about jaguar but in reality attacks are very rare.

Puma (Felis concolor); (BR) Onça-parda
* HB = 90 ­ 145 cm; T = 45 ­ 80 cm; WT = 25 ­ 55 (120) kg; uniform brown.
* The puma can be found all the way from north of Canada to the south of Argentina and Chile and lives in a wide range of habitats from rainforest to desert and tall mountains.  The size varies greatly over its range; the puma can weigh as much as 120 kg but the subspecies of the Pantanal, however, is relatively small.  Solitary except for females with cubes.  In the Pantanal the puma has been recorded as being active both day and night.  It feeds mainly on a wide variety of larger and mid sized mammals such as deers (pampas, brocket), peccaries, larger rodents, armadillos and collared anteater.
* Gestation period = 82 ­ 96 days; litter size = 1 ­ 6
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Ocelot (Felis pardalis); (BR) Jaguatirica
* HB = 55 ­ 85 cm; T = 30 ­ 40 cm; WT = 5.5 ­ 9 (14.5) kg; largest of the smaller spotted cats.
* Solitary except in breeding season and when female has young.  Usually nocturnal but in the Pantanal can be active all through the day.  Hunts mostly on the ground and prefers rodents such as agoutis but in the Pantanal has also been observed to catch fish and howler monkeys.
* Gestation period = 62 ­ 74 days; litter size = 2 ­ 4
* Status: CITES Appendix II

Jaguarundi (felis yagouaroundi); (BR) Gato-do-mato-mourisco
* HB = 55 ­ 80 cm; T = 30 ­ 60 cm; WT = 2.5 ­ 4 (9) kg; uniform dark brown or black.
* Solitary or more seldom in pairs.  The cat most seen in the Pantanal.  Probably due to its diurnal habits, unlike the other cats the jaguarundi has round pupils.  Feeds mostly on small rodents, rabbits, birds and lizards.
* Gestation period = 72 ­ 75 days; litter size = 1 ­ 4
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Margay (Felis wiedii); (Br) Gato-do-mato-grande
* HB = 45 ­ 70 cm; T = 35 ­ 50 cm; WT = 2.5 ­ 4 (9) kg; yellow/brown spotted black; fur longer and thicker than most other spotted cats; tail proportionally longer than the ocelot.
* Solitary and mostly nocturnal.  This cat is more arboreal than the ocelot and often preys and rests in threes.  Eats mainly arboreal rodents including squirrels but might also take terrestrial rodents like agouti as well as birds and reptiles.  The margay has a special adaptation in its hind feat so that descending the tree it is able to rotate the feat around the ankle and hang vertically like a squirrel.
* Gestation period = 75 days; litter size = 1
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Oncilla (Felis tigrina); (BR) Gato-do-mato-pequeno
* HB = 35-65 cm; T = 20-35 cm; WT = 1.5 ­ 3 kg; smallest of the spotted cats in the Pantanal
* This little solitary cat lives almost strictly in the forest and although mainly terrestrial climbs with ease.  It feeds on small rodents and birds.  Like the jaguar, the oncilla has black variation.
* Gestation period = 62-74 days; litter size = 1-4
* Status: Cites Appendix I

Manned wolf (Chrysocyon brachysurs); (BR) Lobo-guará
* HB = 95 ­ 105 cm; T = 40 ­ 50 cm; WT = 20 ­ 26 kg; long legs; big ears; reddish fur.
* Described as a "red fox on stilts", the manned wolf, with a shoulder height of about 90 cm, is the biggest member of the dog family in South America.  The wolf shows a preference for open grasslands, typical of the Cerrado of central Brazil, and it is thought that its extremely long legs is an adaptation for this kind of habitat.  It is omnivore and besides feeding on rodents and other small vertebrates as well as invertebrates, a substantial part of its diet consist of the fruit in Brazil known as "fruit-de-lobo" (wolf fruit) (Solanum lycocarpum).  Although mostly solitary apparently this species has long lasting relationships between male and female.
* Gestation period = 62 ­ 66 days; litter size = 1-5
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Bush dog (Speothos venaticus); (BR) Cachorro-do-mato-vinagre
* HB = 60-75 cm; T = 10-15 cm; WT = 5-7 kg; dark brown; short legs and ears.
* The bush dog is extremely secretive and rare and its behaviour in the wild is very poorly known.  It is thought that this small dog often lives in groups of up to seven members of more.  Apparently it prefers humid forest and in the Pantanal gallery forest.  The teeth of this species are more specialized for meat-eating than those of any other members of the Neotropical dog family, and this might indicate that it is highly carnivore.  It has been observed to attack the agouti paca and probably larger rodents make up an important part of its diet.  It might also attack prey bigger than itself like capybara.  The bush dog has webbed feet and is an excellent swimmer.  They den in burrows and the females can have young twice a year.  When the female is with puppies the male will bring her food.
* Gestation period = 65 days; litter size 3-5
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Crab-eating fox (Dusicyon [erdocyon] thous); (BR) Lobinho; Lobete
* HB = 55-75 cm; T = 20-40 cm; WT = 3,5 ­ 9 kg; grizzled greyish brown, with black on top of the back and tail.
* Inhabiting woodlands and savannas, this widely distributed fox, found from Uruguay and Paraguay north to Columbia and Venezuela, is the most common in the Pantanal region.  It is omnivorous, and besides eating crabs, as the name suggests, feeds on fruits, reptiles, frogs, beetles, birds and fish.  It does apparently not prey on livestock.  The fox forms lasting pair-bonds and most often travels in couples.  It does usually not hunt cooperatively, however.  It is mainly nocturnal, and during the day sleeps in nests in grass or thick scrub.  It breeds throughout the year, and both parents guard and bring food to the young.  The young open their eyes after two weeks, become weaned after three months, and become independent after about half a year of age, but will stay within the same home range as their parents.
* Gestation period = 55-62 days; litter size = 2-6
* Status: CITES; not listed, IUCN; not listed

Crab eating racoon (Procyon cancrivorus); (BR) Mão-pelada, Guaxinim
* HB = 55-90 cm; T = 25-40 cm; WT = 7,5 ­ 10 kg; blackish grizzled with grey, black facial mask and well furred tail banded black.
* Like its North American relative, this raccoon is solitary, nocturnal and terrestrial.  It climbs well, however, and will spend the day sleeping in trees.  It also raises its young in an arboreal nest.  Apparently it prefers habitats close to water, but in the Pantanal can be found anywhere on the floodplain where it finds its favourite food: crabs.  Besides, it feeds on molluscs and fish as well as amphibians, insects and fruits.  The snout of the raccoon is very sensitive and it will feed by feeling under the surface of the water.  The racoon  (at least in the North American species) has the habit of rubbing its food before eating and  is therefore in several languages named "wash-bear".
* Litter size = 2-4
* Status: CITES; not listed

South American coati (Nasua nasua); (BR) Quati
* HB = 35-90 cm; T = 30-55 cm; WT = 3-8 kg; grizzled orange brown to dark brown; long snout; tail black with rings; tail often held vertical.
* Diurnal, omnivorous, territorial, terrestrial and arboreal; lives mainly in wooded areas.  The long highly mobile snout is well adapted to investigating crevices and holes.  This habit gave the animal its name; "qua-tí" comes from the indigenous language Guaraní and means something like "itchy-nose".  The coati is highly social and can be found in families of up to three members.  A study in Panama showed that families consist of females and males younger than two years of age.  When two years old the males attain sexual maturity and are forced to leave the families by females and juveniles.  During the breeding season each family allows one male adult to enter, but he is still subordinate to the females.  The breeding season, which is once a year, is synchronized with the season with the highest food availability when there is less competition for food.  During the low season of food especially the larger males turn more carnivores and might pose a threat to the young.  Pregnant females will leave the band and construct a tree nest.  Five weeks after birth the young are ready to leave the nest and together with the mothers join the family.
* Gestation period = 77 days; litter = 2
* Status: CITES Appendix II

Tayra (Eira barbara); (BR) Irara
* HB = 55-70 cm; T = 30-45 cm; WT = 2-7 kg; dark brown; head and chest light brown/yellow; long bushy tail.
* The tayra is most commonly found in forests and is good climber, but feeds mainly on the ground.  A substantial part of the diet consists of fruits but the tayra is also an active predator and might feed on small vertebrates such as agouti and iguana as well as invertebrates.  It has been observed hunting small monkeys such as tamarin and is primarily diurnal and travels extensively.  It lives solitary or in small families, and it dens in burrows in the ground or hollow trees.
* Gestation period = 63-70 days; litter = 2
* Status: CITES Appendix II

Grison, Huron (Gallictis vittata); (BR) Furão
* HB = 45-55 cm; T = 15-20 cm; WT = 1,5-2(3,2) kg; upperparts grizzled grey; broad white band across  face; muzzle, chin and chest black.
* Found in forests as well as in savannas the grison lives solitary or in small family groups.  It is mainly active in the early morning, late afternoon and at night, but can also be encountered in broad daylight.  It is highly carnivorous and among others feeds on  reptiles, small birds and rodents.  It will, however, supplement its diet with some fruit.  Like most other members of the family it dens in burrows in the ground and might even take over burows from armadillos.
* Gestation period = av. 39 days; litter size = av. 2
* Status: CITES Appendix III

Giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis); (BR) Ariranha
* HB = 100-150 cm; T = 55-70 cm; WT = 24-34 kg; dark brown; muzzle, chin, and white spots on throat; broad tail; webbed feet.
* Up to more than two meters long this is the largest otter in the world.  Unlike most otters it is highly social and usually lives in groups of five to nine or in parts of its range even up to twenty members, consisting of a pair and related individuals.  The young might stay with their parents for several years.  Its diet mainly consists of bigger fish, that it hunts in groups, but also takes other vertebrates such as small caimans.  The otter moves according to the water levels and fish migration.  It is diurnal and at night sleeps in burrows in riverbanks.  Both parents take care of the young and it fiercely defends its young, attacking in a group, and can even drive away a jaguar.  Being extremely noisy, with a repertoire of up to nine different calls including barks, snorts and whistles, this otter is most often heard before seen.  The giant otter has been severely poached for its skin and in the eighties was thought to be almost extinct in the Pantanal, but several reports indicate that the Pantanal population is now being recuperated.
* Gestation period = 65-70 days; litter size = 1-5
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Southern river otter (Lutra longicaudis [platensis]); (BR) Lontra
* HB = 35-65(80) cm; T = 35-85 cm; WT = 4,5-7(15) kg; upperparts dark glossy brown; underparts light; webbed feet.
* This fresh water otter is widely distributed in the neotropics from south Mexico to the middle of Argentina and in elevation up to as high as 3,000 meters.  Apparently it is both diurnal and nocturnal and is mostly solitary.  The diet consists of fish, molluscs and crustaceans.  It dens in burrows that it constructs itself.  Mostly because of poaching also this otter is threatened with extinction.
* Gestation period = approximately. 56 days(?); litter size = 2-3(?)
* Status: CITES Appendix I

Anteaters and armadillos (Xenarthra)

Giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla); (BR) Tamanduá-bandeira
* HB = 100-200 cm; T = 60-90 cm; WT = 26-36(39) kg; grizzled grey/brown; black stripe bordered white from chest to shoulder; large bushy tail; extremely long snout; small eyes; large claws on forefeet.
* Terrestrial, and prefers open grasslands and woodlands where it can find plenty of ants and termites.  It has large powerful claws on the forefeet that it uses to rip apart ant and termite nests.  Because of the claws the anteater cannot walk on the soles of the forefeet  and instead walks on its knuckles, which gives the animal a rather clumsy appearance.  The eyesight and hearing are quite poor and it relies on its sensitive sense of smell to locate food.  It can stick the tongue, that is sticky and equipped with small spines, sixty centimetres out of the snout, and eat as many as 30,000 ants a day.  The Xenarthra order has also been called "Edentata" which means toothless, but as a matter of fact, only the anteaters lack teeth.  The giant anteater can be active both day and night and is solitary except for females with the young.  The female carries her young on her back six to nine months after birth.  The giant anteater travels widely, crossing smaller rivers with no hesitation.  When threatened it might stand up on its hind legs and defend itself with its claws and it is said to be able to kill an attacker.  For this reason it has no serious predators; it is said that even the jaguar will not attack it, but this is not quite truth, though.  The most serious threats, however are fire and humans.
* Gestation period = 183-190 days; litter size = 1
* Status: CITES Appendix II