Wildlife guide Eduarda Fernandes steers a speedboat up the Piquiri river in western Brazil, scanning the horizon for jaguars wounded in the wildfires ripping through the Pantanal, the world's biggest tropical wetlands.
Fernandes, 20, is part of a team of volunteers working to find and rescue jaguars wounded by the record-breaking blazes, which have burned through nearly 12 percent of the Pantanal.
"Our goal is to reduce the impact of the fires as much as we can, by leaving food and water for the animals and rescuing the wounded ones," she said.
The state park where she and her team are working, Encontro das Aguas, is known for having the largest jaguar population on Earth.
In normal times, it is home to at least 150 jaguars, a species classified as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of its declining numbers.
But now the fires have burned through 85 percent of the 109,000-hectare (270,000-acre) park, and many of the jaguars have disappeared.
No one knows if they are dead, wounded or have fled elsewhere.
- Jaguar trapping 101 -
After a two hours searching by boat, the team finds a male jaguar resting on the river bank beneath a tree hanging with vines, his spots standing out against a pile of leaves left dry by the region's worst drought in decades.
They photograph it and evaluate from afar: the jaguar has an injured front paw that may need treatment.
Capturing a jaguar is no small feat. It takes tranquilizer darts, at least three boats and a lot of force.
The tranquilizer takes about 10 minutes to kick in, and during that lapse jaguars have been known to try to swim away.
They are excellent swimmers, but risk drowning when the drug takes effect.
"Everything can go wrong," said veterinarian Jorge Salomao of the charity Ampara Animal (Animal Support).
As the team assesses the situation, sweating in the hot sun and surrounded by semi-scorched vegetation, the jaguar gets up to drink from the river.
That gives the veterinarians a chance to make a more precise diagnosis: he is walking gingerly, but does not appear to be in acute pain.
"He can probably recover on his own. Better to stand down" from capturing him, said Salomao.
He will return in a few days to see how the big cat is doing.
- Animal rescue specialists -
Another team is in a four-by-four traveling the dusty highway across the Pantanal, the Transpantaneira, setting out water and food for animals whose habitats have been destroyed in the fires.
These volunteers are from the Disaster Rescue Group for Animals (GRAD), which specializes in helping animals hit by man-made or natural disasters.
"The fires are a huge problem in and of themselves, but after that, the animals are left facing hunger and thirst," said veterinary student Enderson Barreto, 22, using thick gloves and shin guards to protect himself from being bitten by one of the region's many poisonous snakes.
Veterinarian Luciana Guimaraes is holding a small howler monkey that was hit by a car on the road.
"That's going to be happening a lot, because they approach the road looking for food and water," said the 41-year-old wildlife specialist.
Having traveled from Sao Paulo to volunteer here, she is trying to hold onto hope.
"Nature has a great capacity for recovery, even in a situation like this, where everything seems to have burned," she said.
"But it can take a very long time."
AFP RELAXNEWS
Fri Sep 18 2020
![Race to rescue animals as Brazilian wetlands burn Race to rescue animals as Brazilian wetlands burn](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2020-09/61600399118_BRAZIL.jpg)
An injured jaguar sits on the bank of a river in the Panatal, the Brazilian tropical wetlands hit by massive fires. AFPRelaxpic
![Harga petrol, diesel kekal hingga 24 Julai Harga petrol, diesel kekal hingga 24 Julai](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-06/61717993469_RON.jpg)
Harga petrol, diesel kekal hingga 24 Julai
Kementerian Kewangan dalam kenyataan hari ini memaklumkan harga runcit diesel di Sabah, Sarawak dan Labuan kekal pada paras RM2.15 seliter.
![Ladang kelapa sawit dipercayai lokasi Nur Farah Kartini dibunuh - Polis Ladang kelapa sawit dipercayai lokasi Nur Farah Kartini dibunuh - Polis](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721210176_TBFARAHMAYAT.jpg)
Ladang kelapa sawit dipercayai lokasi Nur Farah Kartini dibunuh - Polis
Polis percaya kawasan ladang kelapa sawit di Kampung Sri Kledang di sini adalah lokasi Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah, dipercayai dibunuh.
Pantau Agenda Reformasi: Bola sepak Malaysia selepas Kim Pan Gon
Niaga AWANI: BSKL dijangka melepasi 1,700 mata pada akhir 2024
Bursa Malaysia dijangka mencatatkan aliran meningkat dengan indeks utama FBM KLCI dijangka melepasi paras 1,700 mata menjelang akhir tahun ini.
Niaga AWANI: Harga emas rekod paras tertinggi dalam sejarah
Harga emas dilaporkan naik ke paras tertinggi dalam sejarah hari ini. Ia berikutan kenyataan terbaharu daripada pegawai Rizab Persekutuan (FED) Amerika Syarikat yang meningkatkan jangkaan bahawa akan berlaku penurunan kadar faedah pada September.
Suspek masih belum digantung tugas
Polis Perak sedang menunggu hasil siasatan terhadap suspek sebelum tindakan menggantung tugas sebagai anggota polis.
Dasar digital perlu pastikan jurang antara miskin dan kaya tidak terus melebar
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, beliau bukan mahu bersikap negatif terhadap golongan elit, namun menegaskan bahwa sekiranya tidak dikawal, kesenjangan di antara kaya dan miskin akan terus melebar.
Ahli Dewan Rakyat wajib jalani pemeriksaan kesihatan
Semua Ahli Dewan Rakyat diwajibkan untuk menjalani pemeriksaan kesihatan selewat-lewatnya pada 11 November depan.
![Jenazah Nur Farah Kartini dijangka dituntut selepas DNA ibu diambil - Abang Jenazah Nur Farah Kartini dijangka dituntut selepas DNA ibu diambil - Abang](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721206884_NurFarahKartini.jpg)
Jenazah Nur Farah Kartini dijangka dituntut selepas DNA ibu diambil - Abang
Urusan tuntutan jenazah mangsa bunuh Nur Farah Kartini Abdullah dijangka hanya dapat dilakukan selepas pengambilan sampel DNA ibunya di Hospital Kuala Kubu Bharu hari ini.
![[KOLUMNIS] Konotasi 'Belanda' dalam pantun dan peribahasa Melayu [KOLUMNIS] Konotasi 'Belanda' dalam pantun dan peribahasa Melayu](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721207677_belanda.jpg)
[KOLUMNIS] Konotasi 'Belanda' dalam pantun dan peribahasa Melayu
Pantun merupakan akal budi orang Melayu, iaitu penciptaan bait-bait diksi yang indah yang mempunyai unsur alam dan persekitaran masyarakat.