As the temperature rises the river levels drop, the flood waters recede and evaporate until much of the Pantanal becomes a huge grassy plain on which the cattle are driven for fattening up for market. There are still many areas where there are lakes, lagoons and saline pools , but these gradually diminish in size. The raised dirt road was created by excavating either side of it and the resulting huge ditches remain filled with water throughout the year and provide refuge for wild life during the long dry period. The area is divided up into vast ranches where raising cattle and horses is the main economic activity. The soil in the Pantanal itself is very sandy with low fertility, particularly in the south where there is a high sodium content, although the organic material left by the annual flooding is sufficient for the grasses on which the cattle graze.
Fishing is another economic activity, both for the table and, above all, for recreational purposes.
Only fishing lines with hooks are permitted and 30kg is the maximum catch per person. As the last great remaining wetland in the world the wildlife in the Pantanal is truly amazing and it is very conspicuous compared to other areas in Brazil and elsewhere in South America. The Pantanal is a paradise for ornithologists. Crax alector herons - soco, maguari etc. There may be many thousands of aquatic birds there with different species occupying different levels in the trees.