Floods And Fires? They're Just The Beginning Of

By J. MADELEINE NASH

From relentless rains to devastating droughts, the effects of the climate upheaval known as El Nino are still being felt. Last week, for example, out-of-control forest fires in rain-starved Mexico continued to send clouds of smoke into the U.S., spreading haze from Houston to Denver. But if El Nino's immediate impact on people has been hard to miss, there are equally important, if less obvious consequences for wildlife. In the oceans as well as on land, many animals are struggling to find enough to eat, while others--including disease-bearing rodents and insects--are unexpectedly flourishing.

--By J. Madeleine Nash

ORANGUTANS: Months of drought and fire have brought starvation to Borneo's apes. Many babies, too weak to cling to their mothers, fall out of the trees and die

SEA LIONS: Off Peru and Chile, the warming of the ocean has disrupted the food chain, and marine mammals are going hungry

DEER MICE: In the U.S. Southwest, rains have made life easier for this carrier of the deadly hantavirus

MONARCH BUTTERFLIES: In Mexico, widespread fires are threatening the woodlands to which these gorgeous insects return every winter. Logging is encroaching on the dense stands of oyamel firs, whose needled branches shelter millions of hibernating monarchs from freezing temperatures