Familiarity with the forests and the animals that inhabit it starts at an early age among the tribal people of Amazonia. Children are often given pets to raise as part of the family in order to strengthen their bond with nature, as well as teach them nurturing and responsibility. These are crucial lessons in an environment like the rain forest, where the balance of use and care are essential to survival.

"This Fragile Life" depicts a Kampa Indian child with her pet toucan and suggests not only the fragility of the child and the chick, but, in a larger context, her endangered culture, the vanishing rain forests, and our threatened planet.

It represents an elegy to the past, a testament to the present and a challenge to the future.