Wild and native animals found in Brazil

Before we start with the list of animals that live in Brazil, let us tell you exactly the number of species you can find all over the country.

When talking about plans and amphibious, Brazil ranks on number first, so there is no country that has more of these species. Being more specific, it is said that there are almost a thousand types of amphibious in the country (946). The number of plants is even more impressive, there are around 46.000 in total.

With almost 700, Brazil ranks second in number of mammals, and it also ranks third in birds, fish, and reptiles. The total number of species known could be between 170,000 to 210,000, which is almost the 10% of the total in the world…The Brazilian wildlife is crazy right?

We are starting the list with an animal that probably you all know about as it´s the one that is represented on the famous Disney movie “RIO”. Although it´s a little bit different than the one in the movie, this macaw is famous for its blue colors.

Unfortunately, almost everything we can say about this beautiful specie are bad news. As it was declared in 2019 by the red list of the IUCN, the Spix macaw is considered one of those extinct animals in Brazil, but only in the wild, there are still some species left in captivity.  

The main reason of its extinction was the loss of habitat due to deforestation. There are several organizations working on protecting the ones in captivity and trying to get them back into the wild. As you can imagine is not an easy task, so we can only hope.

(The one in the picture is a Hyacinth macaw, most people tend to confuse them, as it looks even more similar to the one in the movie “RIO”)

The second on our list is the national animal of Brazil, the Jaguar. This feline is the largest wild cat in all America and after the lions and the kings is the third largest on earth. Of all the big cats, they have the strongest bite, and that allows them to literally eat almost everything they want.

As you may have heard, this animal was not only popular in Brazil, but almost all over America, a long time ago you were able to find it in many countries from the United States to Argentina. Although you can still see them in quite a few areas, the number of jaguars in the wild has decreased a lot in the last years and now is considered a “Near threatened” specie.

The two wildest areas of the country, which are the Amazon rainforest and the Pantanal, are the places where you have higher chances of seeing them, as over there is where the biggest populations are located. Now, if you ever go to these areas, please be respectful with them and with their habitat.

Another of the most famous animals in Brazil is the Golden lion tamarin. Of course, these animals received their name due to the similarity with the hair of the lion, but the truth is that this specie is a primate.

These monkeys can be found in the rain forests of the Atlantic Coast. During the 90´s they were in huge danger of being extinct and there were only around 200 left in the wild. Luckily, some conservation organizations manage to save the animals, but again due to the loss of habitat there are still only a thousand left and experts say that if nothing changes, they could be critically endangered very soon.

These are endemic animals of Brazil, which means that you will only see them in this country.

Everyone loves dolphins, right? They are happy, they jump all the time, and they are a beautiful animal, well you may be able to see a very exotic animal in Brazil if you visit the Amazon rainforest, as the dolphins in this area are a little bit different, they are pink!

The pink dolphin is also recognized by the name of Boto. It´s one of the 5 river dolphins you that exist, and a curious fact is that they are the largest specie of dolphin on earth.

Although they have an important role in the wildlife of Brazil, the truth is that this type of dolphin can be found in other countries as well. The pink dolphin is from the Amazon River, so you can only see it in countries as Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Guyana.

One of the most typical animals from Brazil is the tapir, although some people tend to call them pigs with trunk, the truth is that the animal they are relatives with is the rhino.

There are five species of tapir nowadays in the world, but unfortunately their numbers are decreasing quickly and now they are recognized as an endangered animal in the red list of the IUCN. Of course, the habitat destruction and the poaching (all caused by humans) are the main reasons why they are disappearing.

Some facts about tapirs are that they are herbivores, they love to swim in the water and if you want to see them, the best area is the Pantanal.  

One of the coolest animals in Brazil is the three-toes sloth, which by the way in case you didn´t know it, is the slowest animal on earth. Many people would think that it´s hard for an animal to survive being so slow, as depredators would easily hunt them, well, they manage very well to climb the trees get their food and not do anything else than sleeping the whole day.

The typical image of a sloth is when they are hanging on a tree being upside-down, and that´s basically because they do everything upside-down, eating, sleeping and they may even give birth in that posture.

 Sloths are in more areas of America, for example they are a very typical animal in Costa Rica, but in Brazil you will find a unique specie of it known as maned sloth.

In this case we are talking about one of the most common animals in Brazil, okay, it may not be like seeing pigeons, but it´s quite easy to spot them in the wild. They can be seen either in national park and nature areas or even in the surroundings of big cities.

Maybe one of the biggest reasons why spotting them is so easy because they are a very friendly animal, and they normally go in groups of 20-30 capybaras.

Capybaras are largest rodent on earth, they are very good swimmers and the best places to see them are the Amazonas and the Pantanal. Luckily, these cute Brazilian animals are not in danger of being extinct as it happens with most of the species.

One of those large animals in Brazil is the Giant anteater, also known as the ant bear, the reason of the name is because their mean meal of the day are the ants. They eat around 30.000 to 35.000 ants and termites per day.

Although they can be up to 2 meters of length and they are a very strong animal, you won´t have to worry about them because they are not aggressive, and they are an inoffensive animal in most of the cases.

These animals can be seen in other countries of South America as well, and unfortunately, they are also listed as a “vulnerable” specie.

The piranhas are shown in the movies as one of the most dangerous animals in Brazil, and although it´s true that they have a some very strong and sharp teeth, they don´t normally attack people as their main food are other fishes and plants.

These fishes are typical from South America and being more concrete, they are very common in three different rivers: The Guayanas, the Orinoco and of course, the Amazonas.

Would you be scared of seeing a piranha while swimming on the river?

One of the rare animals in Brazil is the armadillo, it´s actually one of our favorite animals, but seeing them in the wild is not very easy as they protect themselves with a thick leathery shell that also camouflages them.

There are 21 species of armadillos, and you can see them of all sizes, from the giant armadillo that can measure a length of 150 cm to the pink fairy armadillo which is only about 15cm.

The most common type of armadillo is the yellow armadillo, which is located in many areas, but in the Southern Pantanal is where you have higher chances.