101 BRAZILIAN ANIMALS
CARLOS TERRANA NATURE
PHOTOGRAPHER
The Cerrado (Tropical Savannah) is the central region of
Brazil.
The Cerrado is a savannah that has existed for millions of years.
The
Cerrado biome spreads across 9 Brazilian states and the economic future of the
country depends on this region.
The Cerrado is the water reserve of Brazil.
It
hosts the source of the 3 largest hydrographic basins of Latin America.
The
Cerrado hosts lands of great agro-economic value.
But
also has areas of persistent poverty and abandon.
With
40 % of its area destroyed and without objective protection in the Brazilian
Constitution, the Cerrado dies a little bit every day, along with plants and
animals that are not even directly known.
In
the central-east region, the fauna agonizes…400 years of exploitation.
The
list of animals in extinction grows each day…
The
exploitation of the central-east region began only 90 years after the discovery
of Brazil.
The
states of Goiás and Tocantins were only reached in 1590.
The
discovery of the Araguaia River occurred around 1618.
The Cerrado is a mosaic of forests and savannas and serves as interconnection between the Amazon, Scrubland, Atlantic Forest, and Swampland biomes.
Water,
biodiversity, and climate are interdependent.
The
water depends on the flora, which depend on the fauna for pollination and
spreading of seeds.
Removing
any of the rings destroys the cycle of life.
All
of the ecosystem may collapse.
If
the rate of current deforestation continues, the Cerrado biome can begin to
collapse in approximately 30 years.
The
biodiversity of the Cerrado is unique.
The
greater part or its plants are exclusively Brazilian.
We
are recently becoming aware of its potential.
would
it still be possible to photograph these animals in nature?
To
answer this question, I traveled the Cerrado for 10 years, in search of 101
animals.
