Horrified wildlife officials say nearly 100 monkeys along with rare birds have been found dead on forest floors in Mexico as the country is scorched by a deadly heatwave.
The 78 howler monkeys (Alouatta) died after spikes in temperatures in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas where noon readings have topped 42 degrees Celsius, according to local media.
The killer heatwave is devastating populations of birds and other animals in Mexico that have been simply dropping dead in the states of Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosi where it was even hotter as extreme temperatures there rose to 54 degrees Celsius.
Birds like the country’s vividly green lilac-crowned Amazon parrots are being found dead from dehydration in huge numbers where they literally fall from the skies in mid-flight.
Shocking video footage at one of the locations shows the forest floor littered with their corpses where they seem to have dropped dead out of the trees.
Locals are banding together to help survivors and have asked government officials to declare the heatwave a national emergency.
Rescuers from the Conservation of the Biodiversity of Usumacinta AC (COBIUS) said they had heartbreakingly found dead monkey mums still clutching their babies.
One rescuer in the footage can be heard saying (in Spanish): “The drought is serious, it does not forgive.”
Local NGOs are continuing to investigate and fear entire populations of often vulnerable and threatened species could disappear entirely.
One touching photograph shows a baby monkey being helped by rescuers in Ayapa in Tabasco.
Searing Mexican Heatwave Kills Parrots In Mid Air
Locals said that they saw that six females and one male had died before they began laying on water and fruit.
The new images come after photos and videos emerged earlier this month of birds and other animals dead as a result of the searing temperatures.
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Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
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