HOPEFULLY, HE WON'T LIVE TO R-EGRET THAT! A bird appears to have landed in the animal equivalent of a minefield. The egret was seen wandering around between the yacare caimans resting on the banks of the waterhole along the Transpantaneira, a rough dirt road which is the main "highway" that runs across the remote Pantanal area of Brazil. Peter Batty said, "The area in general was very dry. This means that you find a greater concentration of animals at the few remaining waterholes, as you can see here. There are estimated to be around 10 million of the Yacare Caimans in the Pantanal, where they are known locally as Jacaré-do-Pantanal." "There are a few things that I like about these images. Obviously the first thing that strikes me is the huge number of caimans. I have photographed alligators and crocodiles in various locations around the world, but I have never seen anything like this concentration in one place. A second thing is that the egret that appears in most of the pictures seems very calm, despite the presence of all the caimans." "Caimans will eat a wide range of animals including birds, but the majority of their diet is fish, especially piranhas and catfish which are common in the Pantanal." Please byline: Peter Batty/Solent News © Peter Batty/Solent News & Photo Agency UK +44 (0) 2380 458800 *** Local Caption *** These shots were taken at a waterhole along the Transpantaneira, a rough dirt road which is the main "highway" that runs across the remote Pantanal area of Brazil. They were taken in September of this year, almost at the end of the dry season, so the area in general was very dry. This means that you find a greater concentration of animals at the few remaining waterholes, as you can see here! These are Yacare Caimans (known as Jacaré-do-Pantanal locally). There are estimated to be around 10 million of them in the Pantanal. There are a few things that I like about these images. Obviously the first thing that strikes you is just the huge number of caimans - I have photographed alligators and crocodiles in various locations around the world, but have never seen anything like this concentration in one place! A second thing is the egrets that appear in most of the pictures, who all seem very calm, despite the presence of all the caimans. Caimans will eat a wide range of animals including birds, but the majority of their diet is fish, especially piranhas and catfish which are common in the Pantanal. I like the composition of the last picture in particular, with just the single egret which is nicely separated and has a clear reflection. I also like that if you look carefully in most of the images, you can see a lot of caiman heads somewhat hidden in the water, in addition to all the caimans on the banks.