The Pantanal Is on Fire

South America’s Pantanal—one of the world’s most biodiverse regions—is burning with a ferocity not seen in the historic record, with devastating suffering and death inflicted on the wild animals who live there. The fires began in January; as of late October, around 9,650 square miles—approximately the size of Maryland—had burned.

The Pantanal is a complex system of rivers, forests, and marshes in Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Its roughly 60,000 to 75,000 square miles encompasses the world’s largest tropical wetland and the world’s largest flooded grassland, with such exceptional biodiversity that portions of it have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. Researchers have identified more than 4,700 plant and animal species in the Pantanal, including at least 580 birds, 271 fishes, 174 mammals, and 57 amphibians, many of which are endangered or threatened. The region nurtures unique animals such as the Brazilian tapir and the black-and-gold howler monkey. It also supports distinctive evolution, including jaguars who grow larger than their counterparts in other regions to enable them to hunt caimans.

Climate change—coupled with deforestation due to farming, mining, and development projects—has created a tinderbox in the region, leading to never-before-seen conditions conducive to megafires that claim the lives of millions of animals. The death toll includes not only those who die from burns or smoke inhalation, but also young separated from their parents, animals displaced into unfamiliar or unsuitable habitats, and those who starve when food sources are wiped out. More than 17 million animals are thought to have perished in Pantanal fires in 2020. Scientists fear the death toll from the current fires will exceed that. 

Program Terms: Terrestrial Wildlife

AWI Quarterly Terms: Feature Article