| Summary: | This article seeks to highlight the importance of the still incipient studies about the relationships between humans and animals in the remaining African-Brazilian Quilombola communities in tropical Brazil. I suggest here that these studies can prove very relevant to assist in the processes of land claiming and recognition processes, since I believe human-animal relations constitute, and are constituted by, the concept of territoriality, which is significant to Quilombola social organization. Starting with a brief review of the literature on the topic, the discussion will culminate in two specific cases: the Quilombola community of Bombas located in Iporanga in the state of São Paulo, surrounded by a vast area of moist tropical Atlantic Forest and approximately a two-hour walk from the center of the municipality, and the Quilombola community of Carmo in the municipality of São Roque, São Paulo, a rural neighborhood in an urban area surrounded by and urban jungle of high-end condominiums (and where I carried out field research). Both communities have been struggling for many years with the Brazilian state for the recognition of their territories.
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