Activist shares gut-wrenching video after hearing upsetting sounds deep in Amazon: 'Listen to this'

"Listen to this," one environmental activist begins in a video taken deep in the Amazon rainforest. "That's the sound of an ancient tree going down."

In the video, which was shared by the Climate Insiders account (@climate_insiders), you can hear the crashing sounds of a large tree being felled. The man filming identifies himself as part of Junglekeepers, a group of activists working to protect the Amazon from illegal logging and destruction.

"The technology has changed," he says. "They have machinery big enough to plow through the rainforest, to cut these incisions across the Amazon basin."

He'd already followed the road he's standing on for five miles, he explains, and there was no end to it in sight.

"We don't know who's making this road, who's funding this road, and who the loggers are in there," he concludes, "but we're about to find out."

@climate_insiders These Roads Are Knives Through the Heart of the Amazon What was once pristine jungle is now being dismantled—tree by tree, road by road. Deforestation isn't slowing down. It's accelerating. And roads like these? They're the first cut before the forest is gone forever. Love the courage of that guy and thank him for sharing it. We have to stop playing defense. It's time to go on the offense. 🛑 Protect the land before it's destroyed. 🌱 Support the people fighting on the frontlines. 🚨 Act now—because once the forest is gone, it's not coming back. We can't do this alone. Take action today. 👉 buff.ly/41h1nQZ Will we fight for the Amazon, or just watch it disappear? Drop your thoughts below ⬇️ 📌 PS: Found this helpful? Join 10,000+ founders and investors leveling up their game to fix this climate mess. 👉 Subscribe to my newsletter for actionable insights, delivered weekly. 🌍🚀 https://buff.ly/4dIya4G #SaveTheAmazon #ActNow #DeforestationCrisis #ProtectRainforests #Junglekeepers ♬ original sound - Climate Insiders

On its website, Junglekeepers explains that it has seen massive success in providing a "proof of concept of what it takes to sustainably protect more than 77,000 acres of land." They do this by directly purchasing land to protect it, holding illegal loggers accountable with specially trained rangers on the ground, and capturing important data on the number of endemic and endangered species in the region.

In the video's caption, Climate Insiders echoes Junglekeepers' mission. "We have to stop playing defense. It's time to go on the offense," they wrote. "What was once pristine jungle is now being dismantled—tree by tree, road by road."

The issue of deforestation is increasingly concerning, not only in the Amazon but also in other forested areas around the world. This is because trees act as effective heat and carbon sinks, trapping the gas and the heat that otherwise remains pervasive in the atmosphere.

Keeping more trees in cities, for example, is "likely to become even more critical as climate change progresses, extreme heat events increase in frequency, urban areas expand, and urban populations increase," according to one study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

While many of us may not be able to combat illegal loggers directly, like this man is doing, individuals can still lend their willpower — and their financial power — to the cause.

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Whether it's volunteering with or donating to a pro-environmental organization, advocating for local policy changes, or simply raising awareness of the issues with people around us, each of us is capable of advocating for the change we wish to see.

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