A sobering new report by the United Nations has revealed that extreme droughts, driven by global heating and intensified by El Niño, have triggered widespread wildlife deaths across Africa and the Amazon between 2023 and 2025. The study, Drought Hotspots Around the World 2023–2025, warns that ecological stress, starvation, and rising human-wildlife conflict are reshaping entire ecosystems and may leave permanent scars.
Published on July 2, the report is a joint effort by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the US National Drought Mitigation Center, and the International Drought Resilience Alliance. It paints a grim picture of how heatwaves, prolonged dry spells, and resource scarcity have killed thousands of animals and disrupted fragile balances in biodiverse regions.
Africa: Conflict, Starvation, and Crisis in Protected Lands
In southern and eastern Africa, the dry years of 2023–24 saw massive wildlife die-offs and a spike in human-animal conflict. Starving predators like lions began venturing into farmlands. One tragic flashpoint occurred in Kenya’s Amboseli region in June 2023, where six lions were speared by Maasai herders in retaliation after livestock were killed. Normally peaceful coexistence between the Maasai and lions deteriorated under drought-driven stress.
In Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, one of Africa’s largest elephant populations faced starvation. At least 100 elephants died in the early summer of 2023–24, with some collapsing in shrinking mudholes. The crisis forced authorities in both Zimbabwe and Namibia to approve controversial culling operations to provide meat for food-insecure communities—200 elephants in Zimbabwe and hundreds of zebras, antelopes, hippos, and other animals in Namibia.
Botswana also saw disaster. In April 2024, as the Thamalakane River dried up, a herd of hippos became trapped in mud near the tourist town of Maun. Relocation efforts were launched to prevent conflict, as desperate animals grew more aggressive.
Amazon: Record Heat Kills River Dolphins, Alters Ecosystem
The Amazon basin, already under severe strain from deforestation and industrial development, saw aquatic die-offs on a massive scale. In September 2023, over 200 endangered Amazonian river dolphins and thousands of fish perished in Lake Tefé. Surface water temperatures spiked to 39°C, far beyond survivable limits for these species. A second die-off occurred in 2024 as the drought returned, this time affecting juvenile dolphins along the lake’s shores.
Low river levels also exposed endangered Amazonian manatees to poachers. While poaching of these aquatic mammals has been illegal since 1967, their meat remains sought after in some regions. With receding waters making the animals easier targets, conservation gains made in recent years risk being reversed.
Global Outlook: Species Composition May Change Forever
The report warns that many of these events may lead to long-term or even irreversible changes in ecosystems. Fish communities in the Amazon, for example, may see lasting shifts in species composition, as only some can survive the new thermal realities. Similar transformations were observed after the severe 2005 Amazon drought.
Meanwhile, drought-induced animal culling, starvation, and forced migration in Africa threaten the stability of entire populations. Heat stress, food scarcity, and water loss are pushing wild species closer to extinction or driving them into conflict zones where survival is even harder.
A Wake-Up Call
This UN-backed report adds to mounting evidence that global heating is not only a future threat it is an ongoing emergency. With droughts now a primary driver of mass mortality and ecological collapse, experts warn that without immediate climate action, more such crises are inevitable.
Restoring degraded land, protecting critical habitats, and providing water access in drought-prone areas are key steps. But unless global emissions are rapidly curbed and climate resilience investments scaled up, the world may see more wildlife vanish one heatwave at a time.