The mission to save the Amazon's animals

The mission to save the Amazon's animals

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Xita, a tiny monkey with sad brown eyes, clutches her newborn tight. Both are fighting for their lives.

Vets working at the Clinidog clinic in the Amazon city of Porto Velho believe the mother and baby were run over by a car as they fled fires raging across the world's largest rainforest.

"She arrived stressed, screaming and smeared with blood," said Carlos Henrique Tiburcio, the owner of the clinic, as he wrapped the pair in a small, white cloth.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
A hawk flies over a tract of burnt Amazon jungle.

Creatures of the Amazon, one of the earth's most biodiverse habitats, face an ever-growing threat as loggers and farms advance further and further into the rainforest.

. Apui, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Cleio Junior, a fire brigade member of Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources, holds a dead anteater while attempting to control hot points in a tract of the Amazon jungle. "I feel enormous cruelty," he said. "Human beings should have more conscience and put themselves in the place of animals."

In the dry season ranchers and land speculators set fires to clear deforested woodland for pasture. Blazes can rage out of control, fueled by the swirling wind and dry foliage. Wildlife flee from the smoke and flames.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Tiburcio cares for a Caracara hawk with symptoms of food infection at the Clinidog.

Weak and dying animals arrive at Tiburcio's clinic where four volunteers work tirelessly to save them.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Andreani examines a tapir after it was rescued from an illegal captivity at a farm.

"This time of year, when fires are constant due to the absence of rain, the animals seek shelter in desperation to escape death and end up in the city, putting themselves at risk of being run over or captured," said Marcelo Andreani, whose job is to rescue injured animals and bring them to the clinic.

"Human respect for nature is ending," lamented Andreani, who works for the state environmental police.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Xita’s dead baby.

The team diagnoses Xita, a Rondon's marmoset, with a traumatic brain injury. She is wrapped and fed, and her condition slowly improves. Sadly, her baby doesn't make it.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Andreani treats an anteater at his house.

An anteater arrived with a broken left paw after a clash with a fierce porcupine. The patient had been found hiding in a garage and, again, the vets think it might have been fleeing fires as anteaters rarely turn up in the city.

The fracture required surgery. Under anaesthetic, a giant tongue rolled out of the anteater's mouth, earning it the affectionate nickname Linguaruda, or Long-tongue.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Linguaruda rests in a sink.

After surgery, one of the vets took Linguaruda home to keep a closer eye on her recovery. At one point, she climbed into the bathroom sink to rest.

In five days, Linguaruda was strong enough to return to the wild - the best outcome her rescuers could wish for.

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Tiburcio cares for a Caracara hawk.

"Our personal and professional satisfaction is immense when we manage to save a life, especially when we manage to rehabilitate an animal and return it to nature," Tiburcio said.

"I look at the sky and say, 'Thank you, Father, for everything you did for (me) to be the Lord's instrument."

. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino
Linguaruda is released in the Amazon forest.

Linguaruda was freed near a forest trail, where it eagerly clambered among the trees once more.

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Slideshow

A dead anteater lies on the road near the burning tract of the Amazon jungle.
. Mirante Do Norte, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A dead anteater lies on the road near the burning tract of the Amazon jungle.

A paw of a dead anteater.
. Mirante Do Norte, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A paw of a dead anteater.

A dead anteater lies on the road near the burning tract of the Amazon jungle.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A dead anteater lies on the road near the burning tract of the Amazon jungle.

A dead anteater is placed on a burnt log while fire brigade members of Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) attempt to control hot points.
. Apui, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A dead anteater is placed on a burnt log while fire brigade members of Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) attempt to control hot points.

A dead armadillo is seen at a burning a tract of the Amazon jungle.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A dead armadillo is seen at a burning a tract of the Amazon jungle.

Vet Carine Hanna takes care of Xita.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Vet Carine Hanna takes care of Xita.

Carine Hanna holds a baby monkey.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Carine Hanna holds a baby monkey.

Anteater Linguaruda walks among shoes at Marcelo Andreani's house, where it's receiving treatment.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Anteater Linguaruda walks among shoes at Marcelo Andreani's house, where it's receiving treatment.

A Caracara hawk receives treatment at the Clinidog.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A Caracara hawk receives treatment at the Clinidog.

A Caracara hawk receives treatment at the Clinidog.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A Caracara hawk receives treatment at the Clinidog.

Red macaw undergoes a necropsy procedure at the Clinidog.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Red macaw undergoes a necropsy procedure at the Clinidog.

Red macaw undergoes a necropsy procedure at the Clinidog.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Red macaw undergoes a necropsy procedure at the Clinidog.

A tapir is seen in an illegal captivity on a farm before being rescued by the state environmental police.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A tapir is seen in an illegal captivity on a farm before being rescued by the state environmental police.

Agents of the state environmental police push a tapir into a wooden cage as they rescue it.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Agents of the state environmental police push a tapir into a wooden cage as they rescue it.

Andreani touches a tapir's head after rescuing it from an illegal captivity.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Andreani touches a tapir's head after rescuing it from an illegal captivity.

A tract of the Amazon jungle.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A tract of the Amazon jungle.

Smoke billows in a burning area of the Amazon jungle.
. Apui, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

Smoke billows in a burning area of the Amazon jungle.

A road runs through a tract of burnt Amazon jungle.
. Porto Velho, BRAZIL. Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino

A road runs through a tract of burnt Amazon jungle.