Toco toucan within the Pantanal locale of Brazil

The world's largest region of tropical wetlands, the Pantanal extends over a large swath of Brazil, along side parts of Paraguay and Bolivia. The climate is (obviously) warm and sticky, and the Pantanal's natural life has evolved to handle the sultry conditions. Our strongly bent companion here, the toco toucan, could be an incredible case of that adjustment to climate.

This species has the biggest nose, relative to its body, of any fowl. Whereas that enormous shinning charge is marvelous at culling and peeling natural product, and protecting against predators, its most prominent utilize may be in directing temperature. The toco toucan's lightweight keratin nose is underlain with blood vessels which offer assistance to scatter body heat. The enormous snout serves as a kind of indoor regulator, cooling the toucan off in much the same way those curiously large ears do for elephants.