RIO – In recent weeks, the Pantanal has made the news in Brazil and in the world due to the fires that affect and destroy part of its ecosystem. In this environmental tragedy, the injured animals and even the corpses of those who could not overcome the fire are part of the routine of those who work to contain the flames.
In the city of Corumbá, in Mato Grosso do Sul, a specific hospital was created to treat jaguars burned by fire, where the animals are treated with stem cells.
An adult jaguar named Amanaci receives stem cell treatment on his feet after being burned during a fire in the Pantanal, at the NGO Instituto Nex Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSAn adult jaguar is sedated to receive a bandage on a wound on his legs after burns during a fire in the Pantanal, at the NGO Instituto Nex in Corumbá de Goiás, Goiás Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSVeterinarian Patricia Malard applies stem cell treatment to the legs of an adult jaguar named Amanaci that was burned in a fire in the Pantanal, at the NGO Instituto Nex Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSCaregiver shows burns on the feet of an adult jaguar named Amanaci who suffered after a fire in the Pantanal, while the animal was being treated with stem cells, at the NGO Instituto Nex in Corumbá de Goiás Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSAdult male named Ousado receives treatment for burns on his legs after a fire in the Pantanal, at the NGO Instituto Nex in Corumbá de Goiás Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSThe NGO Instituto Nex uses stem cells to regenerate skin damaged by the high temperatures of the scorched earth Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSAn adult male named Guarani walks in his enclosure while receiving veterinary care, feeding and treatment at the NGO Instituto Nex Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSNex Institute workers carry the bold Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSNex Institute workers weigh the bold Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSBold receives stem cell treatment Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSBold appears on a sedated veterinary stretcher, after receiving bandages on his legs Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERSAfter receiving treatment and dressing on his feet, Ousado rests at the NGO Instituto Nex Photo: UESLEI MARCELINO / REUTERS
The fire in Mato Grosso, the epicenter of the fires, has already devastated 1.7 million hectares this year, an area five times larger than the territory of Cuiabá, the state capital, and eleven times larger than the city of São Paulo (SP ).
Pantanal symbol:Blue macaws should return to the list of Brazilian animals in danger of extinction, says the main expert on the species
The fires in the region in August are the worst in 15 years and the flames threaten local biodiversity, which includes tapirs, jaguars, capybaras and the highest density of jaguars in the world. That month, the Pantanal biome registered 5,935 fires, August being the second highest number of fires in its history, since the beginning of monitoring by the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) in 1998.
