Marine iguanas of the Galapagos are uniquely vulnerable to El Nino-driven food shortages that cause mass starvation and severe welfare impacts.
Marine iguanas exemplify wild animal welfare vulnerabilities tied directly to climate change. During strong El Nino events, the warm water that starves their algae food source turns thriving populations into suffering, skeletal animals dying slowly of starvation across weeks. The suffering of these charismatic animals — visible to researchers and tourists alike — illustrates the scale of welfare harm that climate disruption causes in wild populations beyond the more familiar effects on habitat loss and extinction risk.