A heat wave in Mexico is so fierce that howler monkeys are dropping dead from trees.
Though estimates run into the hundreds, at least 85 monkeys have died in the state of Tabasco as temperatures soar to 113 degrees Fahrenheit and beyond.
“They were falling out of the trees like apples,” Wildlife biologist Gilberto Pozo told The Associated Press, noting that the fall itself injured them further. “They were in a state of severe dehydration, and they died within a matter of minutes.”
Tabasco lies on the Gulf of Mexico coast just west of the Yucatan Peninsula and is at the northern edge of the monkeys’ habitat, which stretches from southeastern Mexico through Central America and into western Colombia, Ecuador and northern Peru. They are considered vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.
Normally known for sounding off like a chainsaw at dawn and dusk, the monkeys have been simply dropping from their perches, limp and dehydrated, to be scooped up by frantic residents trying to revive them. Volunteers have been putting out buckets of water and fruit to try and replenish the nutrient sources being lost to drought, high temperatures, forest fires and logging of trees that normally provide food and shade.
“They arrived in critical condition, with dehydration and fever,” Dr. Sergio Valenzuela said of five monkeys that were brought to him. “They were as limp as rags.”
He iced their hands and feet and hooked them up to intravenous electrolytes, and they seem to be recovering.
The heat has also claimed 26 human lives nationwide since March. Nine Mexican cities have seen record-breaking temperatures in recent weeks.
Tabasco is the home state of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. On Monday he acknowledged the heat and its effects.
“I have never felt it as much as now,” Obrador said in his regular news conference, according to Reuters. “So, yes, we have to care for the animals, and yes we are going to do it.”
With News Wire Services
