The brutal heat in Mexico is causing howler monkeys to drop dead from trees

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1. In southern Mexico, the [deep and raspy roars of howler monkeys reverberate](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z95by96_rCo) through the lush jungles enveloping the city of Comalcalco. The sound — akin to the rumble of distant thunder or the grumble of a large engine — usually crescendos around dawn and dusk, signaling to residents the beginning and end of each day.

   But those booming, guttural growls have grown fainter in recent weeks as at least 147 monkeys died amid excessive heat raging in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, said local veterinarian Víctor Morato.

   In Comalcalco, where temperatures have topped 113 degrees, residents have stumbled upon the corpses of monkeys “that dropped dead from the trees,” Morato said — sometimes, as many as 10 bodies at a time. Other primates that were found still clinging to life have been rushed to Morato’s animal hospital, where he immediately hooks them to IV drips with electrolytes.

   “It’s the saddest thing to have them stretch out their little hands to you as if to say, ‘Please help me, I’m dying,’” Morato told The Washington Post. “And more heartbreaking yet is to think that we humans have contributed to this disaster.”

   Over the past year, an ongoing and [severe drought](https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/05/08/sriracha-shortage-climate-change-drought-mexico/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10) has parched most of Mexico, draining reservoirs and leaving parts of the country grappling with an acute water crisis. Since mid-March, scorching temperatures have led to at least 26 heat-related deaths, according to the nation’s health ministry. The double-whammy of weather phenomena, scientists have warned, is [aggravated by climate change](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/16/texas-mexico-water-shortage-treaty-dispute/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10) — which [alters](https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/02/14/southwest-megadrought-worst-1200-years/?itid=lk_inline_manual_10) usual weather patterns and results in longer and hotter periods with less rain.

   Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/22/howler-monkeys-dying-mexico-heat-climate-change/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/05/22/howler-monkeys-dying-mexico-heat-climate-change/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)