Nature
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Mexico’s baking heatwave and desperate drought are so severe that they're causing monkeys to drop dead out of trees. Worse still, temperatures are expected to climb even further in the next few weeks ahead.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.At least 138 howler monkeys have been found dead in the Gulf Coast state of Tabasco since May 16, according to the Associated Press (AP). Many others have been found seriously ill.
“They arrived in critical condition, with dehydration and fever. They were as limp as rags. It was heatstroke,” Dr Sergio Valenzuela, a local veterinarian who’s been working to save the animals, told the AP.
“They were falling out of the trees like apples. They were in a state of severe dehydration, and they died within a matter of minutes,” added wildlife biologist Gilberto Pozo.
On Monday, Mexico's environment ministry acknowledged the mass-death of animals in Tabasco and Chiapas, two southern Mexican states, although they suggest the cause of the fatalities was not yet clear.
“To date, various hypotheses are shared about the reason for these deaths, such as heat stroke, dehydration, malnutrition, or fumigation of crops with pesticides, so studies will also be carried out to determine the cause,” reads the statement.
Howler monkeys are the loudest land animals on the planet, notorious for their deep hollering vocalizations that can travel for 4.8 kilometers (3 miles).
There are at least 15 recognized species of howler monkeys, all of which are native to the forests of Central and South America. The species primarily being impacted by the extreme weather in Mexico appears to be the mantled howler monkey (Alouatta palliata), which is listed as vulnerable to extinction by the IUCN Red List.
While these creatures are well-adapted to tropical temperatures, this latest spate of heat is proving too much. And it isn’t only wildlife that’s feeling the burn. At least 26 people have died from heat-related causes between March 17 and May 11.
In early May this year, record-breaking temperatures were reported in 10 Mexican cities, including the capital – but the worst could be yet to come. During late May and early June, temperatures in parts of Mexico are set to reach 45°C (113°F).
"In the next 10 to 15 days, the country will experience the highest temperatures ever recorded," researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) said in a statement on May 22.
The researchers said the presence of El Niño, which is known for its warming influence, is giving the heatwave an extra boost. Simultaneously, they suspect that temperatures have been further hiked by climate change.
