Cantão
Tocantins hosts one of the environmental preservation areas most important of the Brazilian Amazon. Its name is Cantão, a state park marked by fauna and flora diversity and three great rivers: Araguaia, Coco e Javaés.
In Cantão the scrubland vegetation (similar to the savannah) meets with the pantanal and amazonic biomes. For this reason its vegetation is a mixture of dry land, inundated and perennial forests creating a unique biological richness. Some animal species can only be found there.
Inside the park, visitors can see more than 500 species of birds, giant otters, alligators, turtles, panthera onca (jaguars), blue arara birds, and other rare kinds of animals. At the same time, its more than 830 cataloged lakes help to preserve the aquatic life of the park. Yes, the word is “preserve”, because more than 90 percent of the Cantão area is in excellent condition of conservation.
This is an ideal scenario for the indigenous peoples. And they are there, represented by the Xerente and Javaé ethnic peoples.
