Wildlife authorities have begun distributing water supplies in areas where howler monkeys live, and a mobile veterinary facility has been treating the small number of dehydrated monkeys who were found still alive. However, there are concerns about the safety of releasing recovered animals back into the wild as temperatures continue to soar.
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Over 100 howler monkeys have been found dead as the country reaches highs of
133 degrees Fahrenheit.
Over 100 howler monkeys have been found dead within just weeks as a heatwave
in Mexico continues to impact wildlife.
The deaths have been reported in four states across the country, with tests
confirming that many of the animals had died from heatstroke, Mexico’s
Environment Department said in a statement last week.
At least 157 monkey deaths have been recorded since early May, after a
wildlife biologist in the state of Tabasco initially reported that monkeys
were literally falling from trees.
Howler monkeys are a species native to South and Central American forests.
They survive on leaves and fruit, and are known for their loud howls which
can be heard up to three miles away.
There were early suspicions that the mass monkey deaths may have been caused
by a disease, but later tests confirmed that intense heat and dehydration
was responsible.
Credit: Dr. Ariel Rodriguez-Vargas
Mexico has been gripped by a deadly heatwave in recent weeks, which has
already claimed the lives of over 60 people since it began over a month ago.
The temperature has regularly exceeded 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees
Celsius) in many states.
The intensity of the heat has been made worse as the majority of the country
is also suffering from a drought, alongside over a hundred reported
wildfires that have been burning this month.
A “lack of water in the streams and springs in the areas where the monkeys
live” was also a factor in the heat-related monkey deaths, environment
officials said.
Birds have also been reported to be particularly struggling to cope with the
high temperatures and restricted water access.
Credit: Charles J. Sharp
"We've never seen a situation like what's happening right now," Ena Buenfil,
the director of the Selva Teenek eco-park, told The Associated Press. The
eco-park has been inundated with dehydrated birds, including bats, toucans,
and parrots. "There are going to be a lot of casualties to the ecosystem if
we continue this trend of heat waves in the region," Buenfil added.
Wildlife authorities have begun distributing water supplies in areas where
howler monkeys live, and a mobile veterinary facility has been treating the
small number of dehydrated monkeys who were found still alive.
However, there are concerns about the safety of releasing recovered animals
back into the wild as temperatures continue to soar.