‘Falling out of trees like apples’: How monkeys are dropping dead amid Mexico’s fierce heatwave (2024)

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As temperatures soar in Mexico, the country’s tropical forests are witnessing a tragic phenomenon: Howler monkeys, iconic inhabitants of the region, are falling dead from trees.

Hundreds of primates have been found dead since early May in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, according to estimates from a biodiversity group. Many of them are rescued by locals in critical condition with fever and dehydration.

The mantled howler monkeys are classified as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.

As the brutal heatwave continues to batter the South American country, locals are doing all they can to save the apes.

Mass deaths of ‘vulnerable’ monkeys

According to the Biodiversity Conservation of The Usumacinta group, at least 138 of the midsize primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead since 16 May. In Tabasco, a local volunteer fire-and-rescue squad showed up with five of the creatures in the bed of the truck.

Unprecedented temperatures are surpassing the tolerance levels of the monkeys. Around a third of the country is amid a brutal heatwave where temperatures soared to a high of 45 degrees Celsius on Tuesday.

Several primates have taken ill and are being nursed to health. “They (monkeys) arrived in critical condition, with dehydration and fever,” Dr Sergio Valenzuela told the Associated Press (AP). “They were as limp as rags. It was heatstroke,” he added.

He put ice on their limp hands and feet as well as hooked them to IVs. “They’re recovering. They’re aggressive…they’re biting again,” he said, noting that was a healthy sign for the animals.

While most of the monkeys at Valenzuela’s office are now doing well, many of them in the forests are not so lucky. A source from Tabasco’s civil protection agency told Reuters that cases of monkey deaths have now been confirmed in three municipalities of the state with dehydration being a reason.

The Tabasco civil protection institute stated that authorities and conservationists were conducting patrols to offer water and food, primarily fruits, to assist monkeys in maintaining hydration.

Heat to be blamed

Wildlife biologist Gilberto Pozo told AP that the monkey die-off started on May 5 and reached its peak over the last weekend. “This is a sentinel species,” Pozo said, referring to the canary-in-a-coalmine effect where one species can say a lot about an ecosystem. “It is telling us something about what is happening with climate change.”

“They were falling out of the trees like apples,” Pozo said. “They were in a state of severe dehydration, and they died within a matter of minutes,” he added.

On Monday, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who also hails from Tabasco, reacted to the situation and said, “It is because the heat is so strong. I’ve been visiting the state for a long time and I have never felt it as much as now.”

“So, yes, we have to care for the animals and yes we are going to do it,” he added.

Later in the day, Mexico’s environment ministry said in a statement that it was coordinating efforts to address the monkey deaths, which it attributed to several likely causes, including “heat stroke, dehydration, malnutrition or the spraying of crops with toxic agro-chemicals”.

With rainfall below the usual levels across nearly the entire country this year, lakes and dams in Mexico are drying up with water resources dwindling. By 9 May, at least nine cities in Mexico had set temperature records, with 26 people dying due to heat-related issues.

With input from agencies

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