Bolivian firefighters rescue an anteater after bushfire

Bolivian firefighters have rescued an anteater as they tried to put out a blaze that's been sweeping through different protected areas for days.

The animal was found injured in a bushfire in the Sucuar Lake protected area in Santa Cruz department, and taken to a veterinary surgery for medical attention.

Wildfires raged through the night and left about 14 hectares of terrain burnt over three different protected areas in the region, according to local media.

Footage from Santa Cruz's firefighters showed scorched terrain at Sucuar Lake in the aftermath.

In the last few years, the annual forest fires in Bolivia have increased.

In 2019, nearly 6 million hectares of land were burned across Bolivia. In the first 10 months of 2021, officials said forest fires in Bolivia's Santa Cruz department razed an area twice the size of Jamaica.

The protected areas of Bolivia are home to the isolated Ayoreo indigenous community, as well as Jaguars, Pumas, anteaters, night monkeys and countless other plants, animals and birds.