Savanna · Brazil
Exclusive Wolf Camps Expeditions: "Einstein Monkeys" & Maned Wolves Guaranteed
Embark on an adventure of rare discovery and natural wonder.
A front-row seat to nature's smartest show
Einstein Monkeys. Maned Wolves.
For 21 years, Wolf Camps has delivered up-close, guaranteed encounters with two of the savanna's most elusive species, the elegant Maned Wolf and the astonishing, tool-using Bearded Capuchin Monkeys, nicknamed the "Einstein Monkeys." Here in Brazil's vast tropical savanna, these rare creatures go about their lives, undisturbed and observable just meters away.
And nowhere else on Earth
What You'll See Here
Maned Wolf Sightings
Taller than the Gray Wolf but weighing just 60 pounds, this solitary predator moves through the grass with fluid grace. Sightings here are common, thanks to the unique setup of the camps.
Einstein Monkeys at Work
Bearded Capuchins use hammer stones on specific anvil rocks to crack palm nuts. The behavior is cultural, passed between individuals, and carefully practiced. You'll observe it, from just 5 to 10 meters, as it unfolds in real time.
Macaws, Vultures, and Marmosets
Hyacinth Macaws, Red-and-Green Macaws, and Blue-and-Yellow Macaws fly freely. King Vultures and Tufted-eared Marmosets are often seen near camp.
Dozens of Tropical Birds & Burrowing Owls
Birds gather in clearings, at feeders, and along forest edges, all framed by 1,000-foot red-rock cliffs.
Why Wolf Camps
- 21 years
- guaranteeing the world's finest Maned Wolf and Einstein Monkey viewing
- 1.7M acres
- the Headwaters of the Parnaíba River National Park
- 5 to 10 m
- the distance from which you watch the Capuchins use tools
- Guaranteed
- up-close encounters with Maned Wolves and Einstein Monkeys
Designed for discovery
The Camps
- Two research camps inside the 1.7-million-acre Headwaters of the Parnaíba River National Park
- Positioned for reliable dawn and dusk wildlife encounters
- Private accommodations with full-board comfort
- Reached via a 4-hour scenic drive from Barreiras, after flights from Belo Horizonte
Wolf Camps maintains the only continuous protection presence in this remote national park.
From the savanna
Maned Wolves, Macaws and Einstein Monkeys, up close
The SouthWild leadership
The Discovery That Changed Everything
In 2002, SouthWild founder Dr. Charles Munn witnessed a Bearded Capuchin monkey using a stone to crack a palm nut. Two years later, his local team documented the full complexity: selected hammer stones, preferred anvil sites, and a technique shared between individuals. This was not fixed behavior, it showed clear signs of learning, precision, and transmission.
Munn published the finding in National Geographic, accompanied by Peter Oxford's photo. BBC crews returned multiple times to capture the behavior in slow motion. The nickname "Einstein Monkeys" stuck, and for German speakers, the pun: "ein Stein" (one stone).
This remains the most complex tool use ever recorded in any non-ape species.
Your days in the savanna
Day by day
Day 1
Arrival and Orientation
- Internal flight to Barreiras, Bahia State, from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais State.
- Meet your naturalist guide at the airport
- 4-hour transfer to camp, with the last hour offering spectacular cliff scenery.
- Maned Wolf viewing in the evening or night, usually before 10 pm.
- Overnight at Wolf Cliffs Camp or Wolf Valley Camp, depending on recent sightings.
Day 2
Prime Observation Windows
- Dawn and morning wolf viewing or macaw viewing.
- Observation of fancy birds and even Tufted-eared Marmosets at feeders near the lodge.
- Midday rest and continued bird photography near the lodge.
- Afternoon photography of the national park's 1,000-foot-high red rock cliffs and Burrowing Owls.
- Early evening into first hours of the night for Wolf observation and photography
Day 3
"Tool time" for "Einstein Monkeys", Savanna Wildlife, and Wolves.
- Dawn and morning wolf viewing or macaw viewing.
- Visit the tool-using Bearded Capuchin Monkeys at their workshop in the forest.
- Midday rest and bird and marmoset photography near the lodge.
- Early evening into first hours of the night for Wolf observation and photography
Day 4
Return to Belo Horizonte and out or extend to Pantanal.
- Morning macaws near Wolf Valley Camp
- Departure to drive to Barreiras "BRA" to check in to fly to Belo Horizonte "CNF"
- Optional extension to SouthWild Pantanal
Everything covered
What's Included
- Flexible 3 to 4 night stays
- Private accommodations with full-board meals
- All ground transfers from Barreiras
- Daily wildlife observation sessions
- Access to original research zones
- Unlimited filtered drinking water
- Expert naturalist guides
- Optional evening talks on behavior and ecology
Be part of a living legacy
Wolf Camps began as a scientific outpost, not a tourism project. For over two decades, it has provided uninterrupted protection for Brazil's most remote tropical savanna, allowing biologists to study rare species in their natural rhythm.
When you visit, you're helping preserve them. Your stay directly funds the only permanent presence inside the Headwaters of the Parnaíba River National Park, and supports the continued study of one of the most intelligent non-ape animals ever recorded.
This expedition is part of SouthWild's greater mission: to transform nature tourism into a force for long-term conservation. By creating safe, science-based encounters with rare wildlife, we extend protection beyond individual animals, helping safeguard entire ecosystems for the future.
2025 Season
Expanding Our Legacy
For 21 years, Wolf Camps has been guaranteeing the world's finest quality viewing of Maned Wolves and "Einstein Monkeys" to select wildlife travelers. Now we're expanding access to accommodate more conservation-minded guests who want to experience this remarkable discovery firsthand.
Everything is timed around wildlife behavior, and space remains carefully limited to protect the experience for guests and the animals alike. There are no viewing platforms or artificial enclosures, only two long-established research camps operating quietly during the dry season's best window for sightings.
Perfect Pantanal Combination: A number of well-traveled SouthWild guests have combined Jaguarland in the Pantanal with a trip to Wolf Camps, and many of them have reported that they found the Wolf Camps experience even more impressive than their Jaguar tour. The two destinations complement each other perfectly, aquatic predators in the wetlands, and the world's smartest non-ape species in the savannas.
Of the 264 monkey species in the world, 22 are Capuchins. And the Bearded Capuchin is the smartest of them all…
Dr. Charles Munn, SouthWild Founder