The Pantanal: Brazil's Forgotten Wilderness

Amazonia has a plain little sister, Pantanal, and everyone needs to know her better. A hundred thousand square miles of wetlands for one half of the year, and tropical savanna the other half, the Pantanal suffers environmental threats ranging from strip goldmining and multinational agribusiness to a planned dam on the Paraguay River. Known as the world's largest wetland during flood season (early explorers thought the area was an enormous lake), the Pantanal is also remarkable for its highly diverse wildlife population. This documentary, based on Vic Banks's Sierra Club book of the same title, includes some wonderful footage of many endangered species. While on-screen titles listing names of the exotic creatures ("capybara," "caiman," etc.) would have been appreciated, their absence perhaps illustrates one of Banks' arguments: most Americans know more about African wildlife than we do about that of South America. This excellent tape goes a long way toward correcting that problem. It would be useful in many school settings, including geography, biology, and political science classes, as well as of interest to public library patrons. Highly recommended. Aud: I, J, H, C, P. (R. Reagan)