Most of these photos show animals burned by forest fires outside Brazil before the 2019 Amazon wildfires

This Facebook post published on August 24, 2019 included 11 photographs of burned animals. It has been shared more than 7,800 times.

The Sinhala language caption translates to English as: “Tragedy in the Amazon.”

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

Other Facebook posts with some of the same photos were published here and here with a similar caption.

The photos were shared in a misleading context. Reverse image searches on Google and Yandex reveal the photos were either taken in other parts of the world or predate the most recent wildfires in the Amazon.

Orangutan

The photo of a dead orangutan has circulated in media reports since 2016 about three female orangutans killed in a landfire in Bontang, Indonesia. It was published by the Daily Mail in this report on February 28, 2016. 

The caption states: "The charred bodies of the orangutan were found in a protected forest in Bontang." 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the image in the misleading post (L) and the photo published by the Daily Mail (R):

Orangutans are native to Indonesia and Malaysia, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Tortoises

This photo has circulated in media reports about a forest fire in Peten, Guatemala in April 2019. It was published in this report on April 21, 2019 by Spanish language media outlet Publinews.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo published by Publinews (R):

The same photo was also published in this tweet by local firefighters in Guatemala.

The tweet is embedded below:

#SEMANASANTASINACCIDENTES @BVoluntariosGT 57 Compañías trabajaron en la extinción de un incendio forestal en el Barrio Nuevo Antigua Laguna San Benito Petén el cual amenazaba viviendas aledañas, muriendo calcinadas 40 tortugas, 10 tacuacines, 5 mapaches.#EMERGENCIASCVB122 pic.twitter.com/tvLmSv6dPs

— Bomberos Voluntarios (@BVoluntariosGT) April 21, 2019

Armadillo

This image was previously published in this tweet by El Salvadorian radio station Radio Cadena on March 30, 2019, which claims it shows the aftermath of a fire in El Salvador’s Walter Thilo Deininger National Park.  

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the tweet published by Radio Cadena (R): 

Rodent 

This photo has circulated online since at least April 3, 2019. It was published in this article about a forest fire in Honduras on local news site Once Noticias.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo published by Once Noticias (R): 

Horse  

This image was previously published in this report by Argentine newspaper Los Andes on July 22, 2019 about a fire that erupted in Potreillos, Argentina in July 2019. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo published by Los Andes (R):

The same horse can be seen in this video on the official YouTube channel for Los Andes. The video is embedded below. 

Anteater  

This image has circulated online since at least May 2011. It was published in this Portuguese language blog post, which claims the animal died after a fire at a sugarcane plantation in Presidente Venceslau, a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo published in the Portuguese language blog post (R): 

Sheep 

This photo shows a flock of sheep which died after a forest fire in Darnius, Spain in July 2012. It was captured by an AFP photographer, as seen here.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the AFP photo (R):

Jaguar 

This image has previously circulated in reports about a fire in a sugarcane field in the municipality of Goioere, Brazil. It was published in this Portuguese language news report on November 16, 2018. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo published in the local news report (R):

Armadillo 

This photo has circulated online since at least March 2014. It was published by media site Globo Radio here, which stated the animal died after a forest fire erupted in Roraima, Brazil. 

Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the Globo Radio report (R):

 Snake

This image was published here by photo agency Alamy, credited to photographer Nigel Dickinson. It appears on his professional website here. The location tag states the image was captured in the Amazon Rainforest in Roraima, Brazil.

Below is screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the photo by Nigel Dickinson (R):

A Tineye search shows the photo has been online since at least 2011:

Second jaguar  

This image was published in this August 20, 2019 article on local news site Tribuna Top. It warns drivers to be wary of the presence of animals on highways in Rondonia, Brazil due to forest fires. 

Below is a screenshot comparison: 

Rondonia is a state in Brazil, which includes part of the Amazon rainforest. 

Of  the 11 photos published in the first misleading post, this is the only image which appears to be linked to the most recent wildfires in the Amazon.