An aerial view of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Peten Department, Guatemala. | Johan Ordonez/AFP via Getty Images

During a nasty summer heat wave — see: much of the US right now — water is a reliable source of relief. Where there are no rivers or lakes to swim in, we still might have swimming pools, sprinklers, and popsicles to keep ourselves cool.

Wild animals don’t have such luxuries.

Bouts of extreme heat and drought — which are becoming more common and less predictable as global temperatures rise — can cause natural watering holes in many different types of ecosystems to dry up. And animals don’t have a tap they can simply turn on. That leaves them with few places to hydrate and cool........

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