Dead monkeys are dropping from timber as vacation hotspot nation heats up
A Brit holiday hotspot is heating up so much that dead monkeys are dropping from trees.
Conservation groups are investigating the deaths of dozens of brown howler monkeys in Tabasco, southern Mexico where the species is being put under threat by extreme temperatures. Before perishing, the animals suffered symptoms of dehydration such as fainting and convulsions, Wired reports.
Between May 4 and May 21, at least 138 have died. Experts believe the main cause of death is heat stroke but are investigating other factors.
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Wildlife biologist at the Institute of Ecology in Xalapa, Gilberto Pozo, who has been studying primates for 22 years, was one of the first to witness and document the incidents. He told Wired: “The feeling of the work team is tragic, it is painful.”
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Brown howler monkeys are one of three native species of monkeys in Mexico and are listed as vulnerable withtheir numbers depleting.
The average annual temperature in Tabasco is 27C but already, they have soared way above 40C.
During their investigations, conservationists witnessed two monkeys plummet from 15m-high trees and showed signs of dehydration.
The next day, kindhearted locals left aerial drinkers and tropical fruits to quench the monkeys’ thirst. But shortly afterwards, five more dead monkeys were discovered along with eight more that were suffering.
(Image: Getty Images)
Separate groups found dead monkeys elsewhere in the state of Tabasco, in Comalcalco and Jalpa, and so the scale of the emergency quickly became clear.
Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is investigating various hypotheses about what killed the monkeys – whether it’s heat and dehydration or “malnutrition or fumigation, or spraying of crops with toxic agrochemicals.”
Around 80% of their diet consists of leaves, from which the monkeys obtain water. So if the leaves they eat are dehydrated, the animals consume little water, which leaves them exposed to the effects of high temperatures.
In severe cases, the monkeys suffer convulsions, irregular heartbeats, fainting, and have no resistance to manipulation. “They become like little dolls,” Pozo says.
Tests are currently ongoing.
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