A jaguar resting on a river bank in Encontro das Aguas State Park, a wildlife sanctuary that has suffered extensive wildfires, in Brazil. — ©2024 The New York Times Company
TWO jaguar cubs, their small bodies reduced to charcoal, perished in the inferno. Tapirs, their paws raw and bloodied, were scalded by smouldering cinders. Nests of unhatched eggs from rare parrots were consumed by flames towering over the forest canopy.
Wildfires are ravaging Brazil’s Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetland and a globally significant biodiversity sanctuary.
These blazes, the most severe on record since Brazil began tracking fires in 1998, are taking a deadly toll on wildlife, including endangered species that scientists have dedicated decades to protecting.
“We’re watching the biodiversity of the Pantanal disappear into ash,” lamented Gustavo Figueiroa, a biologist working for SOS Pantanal, a conservation non-profit.
“It’s being burned to a crisp.”
The Pantanal, a sprawling labyrinth of rivers, forests and marshlands, covers an area of 175,000 sq km – 20 times the size of the US Everglades. Approximately 80% lies within Brazil, with the remaining portion extending into Bolivia and Paraguay.
Typically flooded for a significant portion of the year, the Pantanal has recently been gripped by a series of severe droughts linked to deforestation and climate change.
Since the beginning of the year, wildfires have consumed over 18,000 sq km – an area equivalent to the size of New Jersey – within Brazil’s portion of the Pantanal.
This Unesco World Heritage site, renowned for its rich biodiversity, is home to the world’s largest parrot, the highest concentration of caimans, and threatened species such as the giant otter.
The Pantanal also harbours unique animal adaptations, like larger jaguars that dive into flooded plains to fish for food.
Researchers have identified at least 4,700 plant and animal species in the Pantanal, although many remain undiscovered by scientists.
“There’s so much we still don’t know,” said Luciana Leite, a biologist and climate campaigner for the Environmental Justice Foundation.
“It’s such a special region.”
However, these wildfires, fuelled by strong winds and scorching temperatures, are threatening this natural laboratory.
Giant anteaters, lowland tapirs, marsh deer, hyacinth macaws and caimans are being killed or injured.
Even jaguars, known for their agility and ability to escape most dangers, have fallen victim to the flames.
Three jaguars have been found dead since the fires erupted, while four others were rescued and treated for burns, according to conservationists in the region.
“If the jaguar – an animal that runs, climbs, swims – is being affected on this scale, what chance do slower animals have?” questioned Enderson Barreto, a veterinarian and director of the Response Group for Animals in Disasters, a volunteer organisation operating in the Pantanal.
Jaguars are classified as vulnerable in Brazil, which harbours about half of the world’s population of this magnificent animal.
The fires are now approaching a reserve renowned for having the highest density of jaguars globally (four to eight animals per 100 sq km). Experts fear that the death toll of jaguars and many other animals will climb.
“We’re really nervous watching this unfold,” said Barreto, who is working on the front lines of the rescue efforts inside the Pantanal.
“The outlook is not good.”
While it is too early to estimate the precise number of animals dying in the blazes, as many perish in remote areas beyond the reach of rescuers, scientists fear the toll could surpass that of the 2020 fires, which killed an estimated 17 million animals and consumed nearly one-third of the Pantanal in Brazil.
“We’re not only witnessing a repeat of a tragedy,” Leite said.
“It’s actually a situation that’s much worse.”
One of the victims, named Gaia, was a pivotal figure in the Pantanal’s fledgling ecotourism industry for a decade.
A spunky and social 60kg spotted jaguar, Gaia was unafraid of the pickup trucks carrying tourists from a nearby ecolodge. She became a local celebrity among wildlife enthusiasts.
However, last month, the flames swept in with alarming speed, leaving Gaia no time to escape.
The news devastated Figueiroa, who had monitored Gaia and her siblings as cubs.
“That was one of the best sightings of my life,” he said, lifting his pant leg to reveal a tattoo of Gaia’s sister on his calf.
“When I saw Gaia burnt, turned into coal, I could just imagine the pain she must have felt,” Figueirôa added.
“It was a feeling of frustration and despair and helplessness.”
The fires have also claimed the lives of at least three giant anteaters, which are mammals known for their distinctive long snouts and 60cm-long tongues used to scoop up insects.
The species, believed to have evolved over millions of years, is threatened with extinction in Brazil, with its population there declining by 40% over the past two decades, according to Flavia Miranda, president of the Tamandua Institute, a non-profit dedicated to protecting anteaters.
“With the loss of these animals,” Miranda said, “we lose an evolutionary story that has not yet been fully told.”
The fires have reached tree crowns and scorched 80% of a crucial nesting area for hyacinth macaws – large, bright blue parrots that conservationists consider vulnerable and whose population is declining.
The blazes have also disrupted food chains, leaving behind a barren landscape devoid of water and essential food sources, like plants, insects, and smaller animals.
Experts anticipate that the wildfires will continue until at least October, when the anticipated rainy season may offer some respite.
The flames are intensifying pressure on an ecosystem already burdened by unusually frequent fires in recent years, raising doubts about its ability to fully recover.
Should the Pantanal fail to recover, countless species, including the lowland tapir, may lose their last sanctuaries in South America, according to Patricia Medici, a biologist and conservationist who studies the species.
“In the Pantanal,” she explained, “the tapir is in paradise.”
For scientists like Leite, who have dedicated much of their lives to protecting vulnerable wildlife in this region, the future appears bleak.
She wonders if the Pantanal, a rare refuge of nature where humans can still witness abundant wildlife, will remain intact for future generations.
“I don’t know whether my son will have the privilege to look a jaguar in the eye, like I have so many times,” Leite said, wiping away tears.
“We’re losing this really magical place.” — ©2024 The New York Times Company
