The Pantanal is one of the world's great reservoirs for plant and animal life. Scientists estimate that it's home to 80 species of mammals, 650 species of birds, 50 species of reptiles, and over 300 species of fish. It's the largest tropical wetland on Earth, yet it's also one of the most unforgiving habitats to call home. Animals must adapt to changing conditions in the seasonal cycles, flooded during the wet season and parched during the dry season. The limestone hills have many bat-filled caves and the crystal clear waters are great for underwater photography. In the surrounding, contrasting savannah ecosystem,the ipe tree blooms in spring and many rare botanical species grow. Cattle ranchers have lived here for 200 years, coping with predators like the jaguar. The Rio Negro is a tributary of the Amazon, and its neotropical otters are very adaptable to a changing habitat The Pantanal has the largest and most diverse field of tropical lakes in the world, home to peccaries and brocket deer. When the Cuiaba River floods in spring, it brings nutrients to the Pantanel ecosystem. The capybara, the world's largest rodent, jaguars, wood storks and caimans thrive here. The Pantanal is a paradise for a diversity of aquatic plants and isolated wildlife and is now designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.