Maned Wolf, Emas NP by Chris Townend
Tour Dates: Sunday 16th – Sunday 30th July 2028 (Campo Grande to Campo Grande)
Tour Price: £6,299 plus flights
Estimated International Flight Price: London to Campo Grande via Sao Paulo approx. £1,500 return
Deposit: £700 per person
Conservation Donation from Wise Birding: £200 – £300
Minimum Number: 6 people
Maximum Group Size: 7 people
Target Mammals:
Maned Wolf, Ocelot, Jaguar. Plus a good chance for Puma, a possibility of Pampas Cat and outside chance of Giant Armadillo.
As well as Giant Anteater Southern Tamandua, Brazilian Tapir, Giant Otter, Neotropical River Otter, Crab-eating Fox, Hoary Fox, Pampas Deer, South American Coati, Azara’s Agouti, White-lipped Peccary, Collared Peccary and more!
Target Birds:
A good selection of the commoner species including Greater Rhea, Red-legged Seriema, Bare-faced Currasow, Black-collared Hawk, Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, Hyacinth Macaw, Toco Toucan, White Woodpecker, Streamer-tailed Tyrant, White-eared Puffbird. Plus less common species such as White-fronted Woodpecker, Great Rufous Woodcreeper and the range restricted White-winged Nightjar and Blaze-winged Parakeet.
Tour Summary
This tour is a comfortable two base holiday with a strong focus on looking for mammals, but of course also enjoying the many birds that we will see whilst searching for mammals too.
We will see plenty of impressive birds on the tour, but much of our time will be spent trying to see as many mammals as possible, particularly the Cats and Maned Wolf.
Emas National Park: is located in the heart of the Brazilian Cerrado grasslands with scattered wooded areas and never ending termite mounds. We will spend six nights at a comfortable lodge on the very edge of the national park. Our time will be spent exploring the park during the day and night, looking for the many fabulous mammals that this unique landscape has to offer. Pampas Deer and Brazilian Tapirs should be relatively easy to find and with numerous hours in the field we have an excellent chance of seeing the lanky Maned Wolf! However, it is the Puma and Pampas Cat that will involve more effort and a bit of luck, with our best chances at night whilst spotlighting. Puma numbers are good in the park and Pampas Cat is still very difficult to find. To date, we have only seen trail camera evidence of Pampas Cat during our tours. Of course both these elusive cats are never guaranteed, but we will certainly try our best! Some of the commoner birds we should see during our time in the park include the hugely impressive Blue-and-Yellow Macaw, Greater Rhea, Bare-faced Currasow, Savannah Hawk, Aplomado Falcon, Red-legged Seriema, Turquoise-fronted Parrots and a number of rarer species such as White-winged Nightjar and Yellow-faced Parrot.
Pampas Cat, Emas NP by Ana Luzia
Southern Pantanal: After our first week in the Cerrado grasslands we then re-trace our route back to Campo Grande and venture into the very different wetland and gallery forest habitats of the Southern Pantanal. Our first lodge will be spent at a rudimentary lodge on the banks of the River Miranda where we will spend three nights. Our focus will be on Jaguars and Giant Otters and we have an excellent chance of success with our great local guide. We will spend two full days on the river and if successful, we are likely to be the only boat watching Jaguars and a very different experience to the much busier Northern Pantanal. We should also see a great selection of birds along the river.
Our final lodge is located close to the Rio Aquidauana. The lodge here is very comfortable with only a small number of rooms and the wildlife around the lodge is simply fantastic! The lodge garden often attracts mammals such as Crab-eating Foxes and both Yellow and Nine-banded Armadillos as well as Hyacinth Macaws and Toco Toucans. The real highlight here should be the high density of Giant Anteaters and we should have plenty of opportunities to see these amazing mammals as well as the much smaller Southern Tamandua. Ocelot will also be one of our targets and though never easy to see, we have been successful on our previous tours. Puma and Jaguar are also possible though rare during night drives, but always a very exciting prospect!
ACCOMMODATION: 14 nights in Brazil
6 nights Emas NP, 1 night Campo Grande, 3 nights at Miranda River Lodge, 3 nights Aguape Lodge and 1 night Campo Grande.
Inclusive Meals: Breakfasts, lunches & dinners
DAY 1: Arrival Day
Today is primarily an arrival day with a long transfer to our rustic though very comfortable lodge located immediately on the edge of Emas National Park. The journey is around 400Km north from Campo Grande and should take around 6 hours. We will not make any intended wildlife watching stops en route, though we are sure to see our first Greater Rheas and Red-legged Seriemas as well as a good chance of South American Coatis and maybe even our first Giant Anteater! On arrival we will check into our rooms and head straight out spotlighting after dinner. Overnight Pousada do Gloria
DAYS 2 – 6: Emas National Park
We have five full days to enjoy the wildlife of Emas National Park which gives us plenty of time to really savour the wildlife that we find and allow plenty of time for photography too. Our daily routine will involve taking daily game drives into the park early morning, late afternoon and into the night, with time to rest during the hottest part of the day. Our local guide will be with us each day and she has lived here for ten years. She knows the park very well and we have an excellent chance of finding our key target mammals thanks to her experience and knowledge of the area.
Ocelot in the Southern Pantanal by Chris Townend
Emas National Park has an impressive list of mammals and we will try hard to see as many of them as possible. We will try in particular for Pampas Cat, also known as Colocolo. This small stocky cat, though distributed throughout much of South America, is still very localised and studies in Emas NP have shown there to be a good population. However, it is still very difficult to find and so far we have only recorded it on camera traps. A night time encounter is most likely, so we will be on high alert during our spotlighting sessions. Pumas are also present in good numbers in Emas NP, no doubt due to the high numbers of Pampas Deer which are often the favoured prey for this beautiful cat.
Spending six nights spotlighting, we have a good chance of finding Puma, as we did in 2024. The other key mammal we will spend time looking for is the Maned Wolf, this lanky canid is such a strange looking mammal and is often most active at dawn and dusk and we have had multiple sightings on all previous tours. Of course there will also be plenty of commoner mammals that we are likely to encounter such as Pampas Deer, Red Brocket Deer Azara’s Agouti, White-lipped Peccary, Crab-eating Fox as well as Brazilian Tapir and possibly Giant Anteater. Giant Armadillo is also present in Emas NP and we always see fresh diggings, though we would be exceptionally lucky to have a sighting! Birds that we may come across during our visit may include Greater Rhea, Red-legged Seriema, Spotted Northura, Red-winged Tinamou, Rufous-winged Antshrike, White-eared Puffbird, Cock-tailed and Streamer-tailed Tyrants, Curl-crested Jay, Collared Crescent-Chest, White-rumped, White-banded and Masked Tanagers, Coal-crested Finch, Aplomado Falcon and the range restricted White-winged Nightjar. Overnight Pousada do Gloria
DAY 7: Transfer to Campo Grande
After a final early morning drive in Emas we will return for breakfast and then take the long journey back to Campo Grande. Here, we spend the night and relax in preparation for the next part of the tour. Overnight Campo Grande
DAY 8: Transfer to Lodge by Miranda River
After breakfast we travel west to the town of Miranda where we will stop for lunch. We then head north and after leaving the town behind us we head into the more remote and exciting landscape of the Southern Pantanal. Today is mostly a travel day but we will make the odd stop en route for any wildlife that we see. After dinner at our accommodation, we will head out for a short spotlighting session on the river. Overnight Miranda River Lodge
DAYS 9 and 10: Two full days on the Miranda River
We will spend the next two days on boats looking for Jaguar and Giant River Otter. Our local guide knows the river here very well and more importantly, he knows the Jaguar hotspots! We will be out very early in our private boat looking for Jaguars and any other wildlife that we may come across. Depending on our success, we may return to our lodge for lunch or spend the whole day on the river. We have two full days which gives us a good amount of time to hopefully find this amazing cat. We will also try for Giant Otters which are regularly seen nearby. Overnight Miranda River Lodge
DAY 11: Transfer to Aguape Lodge
We will retrace our route back east and take the 4 hour transfer to our final and very comfortable and relaxing lodge where we will enjoy lunch and we can relax in the gardens. Here, we are sure to find our first Hyacinth Macaws and Giant Anteaters are regularly seen close to the lodge. We will take the first of our safari truck rides after lunch and then some spotlighting after dinner. Overnight Aguape Lodge
DAYS 12 & 13: Aguape Lodge and Aquidauana River
We will have two full days exploring the area around our lodge where we will take three game drives a day. We will check the latest news on cat sightings and although never guaranteed, Ocelot is the most likely species that we hope to find and we have also seen Puma here, and if we are very lucky, even Jaguar is possible. Other mammals we will be looking for include White-lipped Peccary, Collared Peccary, Southern Tamandua and of course Giant Anteater, a species which is not particularly difficult to find here. We will also venture out during the night where our chances of cats increase, particularly for species such as Puma and Ocelot. We will take a morning boat trip on one day in search of Black and Gold Howlers, Neotropical River Otter and a great selection of birds including Band-tailed Manakin, Matto Grosso Antbird, Orange-backed Tropical and maybe Sungrebe. Overnight Aguape Lodge
Jaguar family in the Pantanal by Chris Townend
DAY 14: Final morning at lodge before transfer to Miranda River
We spend a final morning taking a game drive and targeting any mammals and other wildlife that we have not yet seen and then return for lunch at the lodge. After lunch we will take a transfer of around 4 hours back to Campo Grande where we will have our final night and plenty of time to pack before our international flight the next day. Overnight Campo Grande
DAY 15: Airport Transfer
We will take a morning transfer after breakfast to Campo Grande to connect with a flight to Sao Paulo and back home.
Please note this is a flexible itinerary which may need to be adjusted slightly dependent on arrival / departure times, weather conditions and the most recent information from our local guides
Leaders: Wise Birding Leader and local guides
Included in cost: Accommodation, all meals, all transport, all boat trips, all entrance fees, all water, plus services of the local guides and leader.
Not included in cost: International airfare, internal flights, travel insurance, alcoholic drinks and any airport/visa fees.
Single Supplement: £599
Transport: A mix of minibus, safari trucks and 4×4 vehicles on land. Small boats looking for wildlife in second half of tour
Difficulty: Easy The vast majority of birding is done in close proximity to the vehicle or from boats. Some short walks on flat trails in gallery forest / grassland.
Climate: Hot and humid though surprisingly cold at night in Emas NP
Tour Start Point: Campo Grande airport, Brazil
Tour End Point: Campo Grande airport, Brazil
Suggested Airlines: LATAM or British Airways
