A jaguar (illustration).

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Pixabay / Nickbar

A nature reserve with the world's largest jaguar population is threatened by fires in Brazil.

The reserve is located in the Pantanal, the largest tropical wetland on earth.

"Reinforcements were sent to fight the fire in the Encontro das Aguas natural park," said a statement from the Brazilian authorities on Tuesday.

Two women and seven children, whose homes were surrounded by flames, were rescued.

Rescuers are also trying to protect the 140 bridges to prevent the populations from becoming isolated.

Como pessoa nascida e criada no Pantanal meu coração dói ao ver imagens como essa ... os governos precisam act.

O fogo hoje chegou ao maior santuário para onças pintadas do mundo, o Pantanal pede socorro #SavePantanal #SalveOPantanal #pantanal #pantanalmatogrossense pic.twitter.com/vXJWszQEC9

- Luan Santana 🕊 (@luansantana) September 9, 2020

A plan to contain the fires

The Pantanal, at the southern end of the Amazon rainforest, is home to one of the largest concentrations of birds and caimans on the planet as well as a colony of jaguars, a species "almost threatened" according to the International Union for the Conservation of nature (IUCN).

The plain was affected by 12,102 fires in 2020, i.e. more than in 2018 and 2019 combined.

In July, the Brazilian Space Agency (INPE) satellites detected 1,684 fires in the region, three times more than in July 2019, then considered the worst month since 1998. On August 7, the authorities launched the Operation Pantanal II, aimed at limiting the impact of these fires.

Five water bombers and 122 firefighters were mobilized.

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  • Brazil

  • Animals

  • Jaguar

  • Fire

  • Planet

  • Amazonia