Where Mankind and Nature Get Along

On the border between Brazil and Bolivia is a rare place where people profit from nature without destroying it. Called the Pantanal, it is a giant freshwater wetland that covers 140,000 sq km (54,000 sq. mi.). Unlike Brazil's other three great ecosystems -- the Atlantic forests, the Amazon and the plain called the Cerrado -- the Pantanal has not yet suffered grievous damage at the hand of man. Even more amazing, it retains some of the densest concentrations of wildlife in the Americas, despite the fact that settlers have worked cattle ranches in the area for more than 200 years.

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