Brazil: Pantanal – Greater Rhea

Greater Rhea is the South American version of an ostrich – it’s the largest bird on the continent weight up to 60 pounds / 30 kg. The flightless bird roams the grassy plains of the dry area of Pantanal. I easily saw a couple dozen of them and many approached quite closely. Most interestingly, one had tiny baby chicks – they were hardly up to the mom’s knees in size but look like exact mini-replicas. This species is considered threatened due to loss of habitat but in Pantanal they seem quite numerous.


Maps were disabled by the visitor on this site. Click to open the map in a new window.