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Before travelling somewhere I always research what types of animals I can photograph. When I was researching what i can find in the Pantanal, I came across the Greater Rhea. As these birds have a classification of  “near threatened”, I thought to myself  they would be difficult to see, let alone to photograph. Anyway……….. We flew into Campo Grande from Vitoria. We picked up our rental car from Campo Grande Airport and we were on our way, driving towards Bonito on Highway BR 060. We’d been driving for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours when suddenly to my left, in a field a saw a flock of about 7-8 Greater Rheas. Of course, me being me became quite excited, stopped the car and went to take photos but by the time i got out of the car, crossed the road, they had fled and were quite along way away. Still took some photos though,  The next opportunity I got to see them was when we were travelling to Recanto Ecológico Rio da Prata near the town of Jardim in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. We had just turned right, off Highway BR 267 onto a dirt road and as we were travelling towards Recanto Ecologico Rio da Prata, which was about 3 kms away, on my left I saw another flock of about 7-8 Greater Rheas in another field. These ones seemed a bit more used to Humans as they didn’t flee like the first group I saw, so managed to get some close photos of them. The day was quite overcast so the photos are a bit flat but still happy.

* The Greater Rhea can reach 1.7 meters in height, and weigh up to 40 kilograms). 

* The wings are large for a flightless bird and are spread while running, to act like sails and for balance.

* The Greater Rhea is the largest bird in South America.

* They live in southeastern South America, including Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina.

* Greater Rheas are omnivorous. They eat broad-leafed plants, a variety of seeds, roots, fruits, insects and small vertebrates, such as lizards, frogs, small birds and snakes.

* They can run up to 64 km/h

* Only Males incubate the eggs.  He also takes care of the chicks after hatching, keeping both female rheas and predators away.

* The Greater Rhea is classified as “near threatened” on the IUCN red list. The Greater Rhea has undergone a marked decline as a result of hunting for meat, eggs and skins, and for its feathers, which are used to make feather dusters. In recent years, these threats have been compounded by habitat loss as vast areas of grassland are converted for agriculture and cattle ranching. Farmers and ranchers often accuse rheas of eating crops and competing with cattle for food, and chase the birds off their land. although there is evidence that the Greater Rhea actually feeds on important weed and pest species.