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PANTANAL COWBOYS © Kenneth & Margaret Mallory All Rights Reserved. |
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Life on a Ranch in Southwestern Brazil Brazil's Pantanal is an isolated, seasonally flooded landscape of meandering rivers, gallery forests and grasslands. It contains the greatest concentration of wildlife in South America. Rheas, anacondas, giant river otters, indigo macaws, caiman and jaguars share the land with small herds of grass-fed horses and cattle. Deforestation and runoff from agro businesses to the east are gradually clogging and polluting the water that flows through this idyllic terrain. But at Fazenda Barranco Alto on the Pantanal's Rio Negro, some ranchers are struggling to maintain old traditions of sustainability without destroying the land and surrounding wildlife. The owners maintain a herd of 50 horses and mules as well as 2,000 Zebu cattle. Brown Swiss cows provide milk for yogurt, butter and cheeses. The owners and workers grow their own fruits, vegetables and nuts: papayas, mangoes, pineapples, oranges, manioc, cashews and lettuces. Nothing is wasted. Cow hides are tanned and turned into useful leather lassoes, halters and sheathes for knives. To supplement their income, the owners work with guides they select from worker families to escort small groups of ecotourists through the region. The nature-loving visitors stay in a modest guesthouse, thus leaving only a small footprint on the land. For photostories on the Pantanal and other regions in South America, contact Kenneth and Margaret Mallory. To see a story on Pantanal wildlife, go to www.loupemedia.com/mallory2/ |
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Photographers and Writers Kenneth & Margaret Mallory 37 Oak Terrace, Newton Highlands, MA 2461 | phone: 617.965.1908 | fax: 617.663.6092 email: kandmmallory@gmail.com | web: www.kennethmallory.com |
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