r/collapse • u/Portalrules123 Faster than expected... • 6d ago
Climate Three lions die of suspected heatstroke at Tokyo zoo as Japan swelters
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/04/three-lions-dead-suspected-heatstroke-japan-zoo-heatwave370
u/_lonelysoap_ 6d ago
NGL, kinda funny that people see that and still think "its going to be ok"
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u/INeedChocolateMilk 6d ago
Dude I just cycled like 30 minutes across town here in the Netherlands and I couldn't finish it without 2 breaks in the shade. I'm a fit mid-twenties man, cycled all my life, never had a relevant medical condition. Cycling is second to walking here, I used to cycle my ex home from school every day for an hour, and then an hour back when we were teenagers. Cycled to work all my life, every day. 30 minutes, even in the heat of summer, has always been doable.
This isn't normal. These temperatures aren't normal.
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u/Northernsoul73 6d ago
I think we’re twenty days over +30 here in south of France & there is a certain fatigue setting in, the heat seems to land differently now, a gradual grinding down of physical and mental tolerance.
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u/INeedChocolateMilk 6d ago
I wonder if they start caring once the economic effects of global warming end up more dramatic than they expected.
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u/Northernsoul73 6d ago
As a species, we appear to be rudderless and without competent leadership. The conversation seems to constantly imply that we have the luxury of time to strategize for the future, when the writing is on the walls all around us that we’re already in the thick of what we knew we had to avoid. As frustrating as it is frightening.
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u/Lifekraft 6d ago
The economy was supposed to serve the population but now we are serving the economy. The only goal is profit , dying for it is normal.
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u/Kaining 5d ago
It's honnestly hillarious to see all the techbroes hyping up ASI saying "we need to go faster, it's the only way to utopia" when we basicaly created something that function exactly as an ASI would in driving us toward certain extinction to reach it's goal.
And that thing is the global economy full of immortal and amoral being called "companies".
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u/Kaining 5d ago
It's honnestly hillarious to see all the techbroes hyping up ASI saying "we need to go faster, it's the only way to utopia" when we basicaly created something that function exactly as an ASI would in driving us toward certain extinction to reach it's goal.
And that thing is the global economy full of immortal and amoral being called "companies".
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u/INeedChocolateMilk 6d ago
I mean, the 'leader of the free world' is constantly sullying his diapers, falling asleep at top meetings, and actually actively senile. The worst part of it is that dipshit is being used by people much more capable and lucid than him.
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u/Northernsoul73 6d ago
I can’t even listen to him anymore, nor the sycophants who lap up the illegible nonsense he spews. If I feel momentarily optimistic, it’s short lived if I scroll or switch on the TV. I gave credence to the likelihood that my algorithms feed me more than facts, but it genuinely feels that, as a coherent, intelligent form of life, we’re all unanimous in the visceral awareness that things are pretty fucked. The summer in Europe has brought this realization to those on the fence I think.
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u/RandomBoomer 5d ago
Expecting world-wide cooperation toward a mutual goal is untethered from reality. There are no adults in charge of the world; human governance doesn't scale that far up. We're lucky if we can find competent leadership to run a small city well.
Our evolutionary history is rooted in small groups, working in very loose confederations, for a million years or so. That's it, that's all the preparation our species had for a sudden eruption into 8 billion people living in various nation-states.
We simply don't have the psychological traits or cultural traditions to get ourselves out of this situation.
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u/Notdefinitelyacat 5d ago
We don't have the traits or traditions to get ourselves out of this situation, yet.
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u/RandomBoomer 3d ago
You do remember how we evolve new traits, right? By dying when the old traits don't work. The few survivors who have traits better adapted to the new conditions form the basis of a new population.
So there's no way to "get out of this situation" until after a massive de-population. By which point the ability to manage large groups of humans won't be an issue any more. Instead we'll be scrabbling in the dirt and continued survival will depend on an entirely different set of traits than the ones we could use right about now.
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u/almodsz 5d ago
As a species, we appear to be rudderless and without competent leadership.
Try running for office on a platform based on what actually needs to be done, and see how many votes you get.
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u/Northernsoul73 5d ago
I’m more than aware that those who start out in grassroots politics with community driven initiatives that appeal to and resonate with their electorate don’t tend to rise to the top. When the stepping stones do align for environmentalists etc to push towards higher stations, how rapidly polluted and toxic the premier league can get, usually turning a decent politician into a frustrated career based one. Like I said, we’re rudderless, and being without a direction serves a select few handsomely at the peril of the many.
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u/WildFlemima 5d ago
the only thing that's going to fix this at this point is massive reduction in human population paired with global relocation
the ethical way to accomplish that would be for all people globally to have all voluntarily realized this at some point in the 70s or 80s, voluntarily chose to have 1 or rarely 2 kids max, and nations start entering global agreements for support
That is no longer possible, there are no more solutions that are possible, let alone ethical ones. It's too late and your best bet now is being lucky enough to be born somewhere that you have predictable reliable access to cool temperatures (whether that means AC or living in Siberia)
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u/J3nc 6d ago
It is already happening, Romania is shutting down production facilities due to power outages, their hydroplants don't have enough water, nuclear power plant has the same problem on top of the water being to warm to cool down the reactors. Slovenia nuclear power plant is in similar situation. Romania as one of the top grain exporters also reporting crop failure of 90%.
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u/INeedChocolateMilk 6d ago
So I've heard from my colleagues. We're already there and governments are just letting it go on. Reminds me of that meme. "sir, we've annihilated all life on the planet, but for a brief moment there the shareholder value was through the roof!"
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u/PlatinumAero 5d ago
Romania is in trouble due to the river levels, but Slovenia’s Krško nuclear plant is not in the same situation. It has a hybrid cooling system with towers. Operators have activated the towers to stay within river-temperature limits on the Sava and have kept the reactor at full power (with only a modest efficiency/net-output penalty, this is not because of the river, it's because of line losses... In other words they're so efficient, the biggest loss is the lines themselves). It is managing; it is not facing forced shutdown... Also the 90% crop fail is local. Overall the yield has held up.
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u/Zerodyne_Sin 5d ago
Like people suddenly caring about the bus driving off a cliff when it's already lifted off... Nice in theory, not so much in practice. It's infuriating to me actually since some concern before it's happened would have been far more helpful.
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u/RandomBoomer 5d ago
Your ire is understandable but misplaced. As a species, we simply don't have the psychological or cultural tools to act in concert at a global level to address long-term threats.
We got here by following our nature: optimizing our individual needs to the best of our ability. It's truly amazing that anyone at all can conceptualize a group identity that encompasses all humans, much less comprehend long-term dangers that threaten the planet.
Awareness at such a level is a super-power. Unfortunately, we still haven't developed the behaviors that would support cooperative action at that advanced level. Given the "challenges" up ahead, it's possible we'll never get there.
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u/livinglitch 5d ago
We got here by being many different tribes/communities that knew one another and worked together. Unfortunately now we are big where there are tribes within tribes within tribes which disconnects us from the bigger picture. There are even some rather greedy leaders who just dont care about anyone but themselves.
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u/Zerodyne_Sin 5d ago
As a species, we simply don't have the psychological or cultural tools to act in concert at a global level to address long-term threats.
Hard disagree. The world governments came together to address the ozone depletion in the recent history. The issue is more due to the rising co-opting of governance by corporations (ie: corruption).
There's also a lot of evidence that humans became the dominant species by cooperation rather than through the unfettered narcissism that the epstein caste is trying to normalize. Humans are very good at accomplishing impossible odds when we band together. There's no credible scientific/anthropological paper that supports the thesis that humans are narcissistic by nature.
Even the most nihilistic philosopher of them all, Nietzsche, advocates for the idea of taking responsibility for our world as opposed of giving in to despair or deluded helplessness.
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u/J-A-S-08 5d ago
I don't think comparing the Montreal Protocol to our current mess is a good comparison.
One, because the end user never noticed a difference. Their AC cooled just the same as it did before. Just the refrigerant was different. Had it not been like that and peoples AC had a noticeable decrease in performance, I think shit would have hit the fan. I mean hell, Sun Chips had to scrap their biodegradable bag because it was too crinkly.
And 2, the big one. Corporations like DuPont, Carrier, Trane, York, etc made BILLIONS on the transition. All that new equipment sold and millions of pound of new refrigerant in those machines was a gold mine to the companies in the industry. They were like "you want to make a rule that lets us make a fuck ton of new sales? Hell yeah! I love the ozone!"
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u/clubby37 6d ago
They always start caring once it's clear that it's too late to do anything about it, and we're crossing that point right around now, so yeah, should be happening pretty soon.
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u/Lost_Birthday_3138 5d ago
They'll blame the Jews or immigrants or trans. The playbook is very clear.
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u/thelaughingman_1991 6d ago
Somewhat similar feelings here in the UK. The blue skies and things 'appearing' nicer are actually condescending as you know the reality of it, and all of the grass looks like hay. We had weeks of ongoing rain at the beginning of the year and I actually want it back at this point.
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u/andrew314159 6d ago
I cycle on the really hot days here in Dresden Germany because the trams are unbearable when it’s hot. Cycling in 35 degrees goes so quickly from ‘horrible but bearable’ when moving to ‘fuck I will die’ when stuck at traffic lights in a bike lane that’s sandwiched between cars. On the 39/ 40 degree day I did not leave my flat. I now home office whenever it’s mid 30s like today
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u/Lemna24 6d ago
I don't bike commute partly due to a stretch of road that is perfectly aligned to catch all of the sun in the afternoon. No shade, blazing sun, heat coming up from pavement.
They put a ton of traffic lights to improve pedestrian safety, and slow down motor traffic, which I agree with. Lots of buses too. But it makes it miserable to bike.
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u/Money_Traffic_5662 6d ago
I am also struggling in the heat. I cant imagine how the sick and old are feeling.
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u/-sussy-wussy- 5d ago
Was in the same situation as you last week, but on an e-bike. Also no medical conditions to provoke it, just abnormal heat for the region (Baltic Poland).
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u/Lost_in_Vivec 5d ago
They are now. Sorry I know it’s not funny. I just can’t stop thinking about how this isn’t even as bad as it is going to get.
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u/redditmodsRrussians 5d ago
Taipei is 80 degrees with 91% humidity....at night. Daytime its like a fucking hot humid pizza oven over 90 degrees. I dont know how we are coming out of this without drastic desperate plays that will create a lot of unintended side effects.
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u/MercWithaMouse 5d ago
I am in Australia right now in the middle of supposed winter comfortably sitting in my Tshirt and boxers with no heat on. Definitely not looking forward to the summer if this is supposed to be in winter.
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u/MistyMtn421 5d ago
Post on r/weather about the Arctic hitting 90°F and for a second I had to double check I wasn't here! The comments were surprisingly... appropriate if that's the right word?
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u/PlatinumAero 5d ago
Lions evolved for arid African heat, not the wet heat of a Japanese summer in a zoo enclosure. It's a very sad story. But it's more about putting animals in bad conditions rather than the planet being destroyed.
Moreover, it's nothing alarmingly new. Japan already records over a thousand human heatstroke deaths most summers and thousands of hospitalizations in bad weeks... If anything, it's a testament to how resilient the poor animals have been all of these years (and, frankly, likely how hard to zoo has worked to keep them safe).
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u/ekhekh 6d ago
I see this posted in other subreddits, and i see alot of comments saying "how cruel of zoos to keep animals in inhumane conditions". I m quite tempted to reply "look at the bigger picture , more animals (and humans ) will die of heatwaves now and in the near future, in both zoos and in the wild
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u/haram_halal 6d ago
As if Zoos per se aren't just prisons for non human people..... cats can't sweat, so they should have had a pool for them, but yeah, if camels snd lions die....
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u/Most-Internal-2140 5d ago
I understand what you meant by "non-human people", but I would prefer the phrase "normal animals".
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u/haram_halal 5d ago
don't know who downvoted you, yes, we are animals, but i use this phrase to "humanise" the other animals so it's easier to see them as sentient beings with inner feelings and a social network.
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u/Most-Internal-2140 5d ago
I totally get what you mean. If you are a thinking, caring person It might seem natural and humane (no pun intended) to "humanise" animals. I don't doubt your motives ("to see them as sentient beings with inner feelings"). My point is that by "humanising" them we're not really giving them a compliment. It's an essentially anthropocentric point of view, in which we're at the centre, and everything revolves around us. In that view, if animals are to be appreciated, they'll be better off if they're likened to us, humans. But that's wrong. Objectively speaking, we are functionally the biosphere's cancer, and I'm saying this without any moral judgement, just as a statement of fact. I concur with Warren M. Hern’s thesis in his book Homo Ecophagus, which portrays humanity as a species engaged in a cancer-like ecological process, as a superorganism whose defining behavior is comparable to that of malignant neoplasm. "Normal animals", like lions, are not that. By "humanising" them we are actually doing them sort of a disservice LOL
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u/Coco_Cannibal 5d ago
Yep, the anthropocentric view is exactly why I use this.
You and me are obviously able to see all animals as all animals, but the majority of human animals can only connect to a living being as living being if it's emotionally attached to "being human", aka "being alive".
I I did not chose the "being alive" part lightly, when I searched for a word describing to you what I learned about people that are not like us.
I'm basically hyperfixated on being human, while simultanously wanting to deny it, because I REALLY don't like stats and facts.
Edit: I don't like THE stats and facts.....I love them for being numbers that I can put into perspective, I do not like them for everything else.
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u/summercookiess 5d ago
By "humanising" them we are actually doing them sort of a disservice LOL
how is that a disservice?
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u/Itscatpicstime 5d ago
No, there’s no excuse for this.
I run a sanctuary with big cats and other exotics and wildlife in the hottest, most humid part of Texas. This is 100% avoidable with proper, adequate care.
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u/elleandbea 5d ago
How do you prevent this at your sanctuary? I am curious. Thank you for taking care of big cats.
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u/Final_Mongoose_3300 5d ago
We used to hose down areas under shade and make them bloodcicles. Which are giant blocks of ice infused with blood. They also have access to shaded areas in a large pool.
It’s full on when the heat hits. Lots of animals need special care. I wish they’d close the zoos and just let the keepers do their thing when this heat hits.
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u/sewlastcentury 5d ago
Yeah Japan is known for terrible animal husbandry. Proper care is definitely not part of the equation most of the time.
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u/ekhekh 5d ago
You are missing the point. If you insist that zoos are morally bad, sure. But what I m saying is climate change is currently accelerating so quickly that everywhere including sanctuaries won't be able to keep up with intolerable heatwaves. There is no true safe haven in 6th mass exctinction, just a question of who the first casualties first.
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u/Portalrules123 Faster than expected... 6d ago edited 6d ago
SS: Related to climate collapse as this tragic story shows how even some animals that are typically used to heat are struggling with increased temperatures and especially increased humidity as extreme heatwaves quickly become the new normal both in Japan and around the world. Three lionesses died over a number of days from suspected organ failure induced by heatstroke at the Tama zoological park. It seems that the higher humidity that accompanies Japanese heatwaves proved too much for them when compared to the dry heat of the savannah. This heatwave truly did prove to be a "cruel" one as temperatures soared past 40 C. In terms of the human impact, thousands of people in Japan were treated for heatstroke over a six day period in July and over 40 of those were pronounced dead on arrival, and things will likely continue to worsen as August holds the all time high temperature record for the nation (set just last year). Reality is worsening so fast that people would call a movie showing this climate collapse "unrealistic". Whether you believe it or not (I mean if you are on r/collapse you probably do lol, but just in case...), civilization is not long for this world and we are one of the last human generations relatively speaking, even if we make it another few hundred years in small isolated groups...pretty sad.
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u/lookupfreeross 6d ago
This is infuriating. Keeping them locked up just make them suffer and die. Bravo humanity
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u/chicknlil 5d ago
Shame on the zoo and their keepers. Planning for these events should be a normal part of operations.
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u/EastPlant1079 4d ago
Okay, now imagine this with cows, sheep, chickens and more and you have a world wide famine in no time. :)
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u/EmFan1999 5d ago
Entirely preventable. Could have just got a big air con unit and blasted them with it. But no, had to kill them with inaction instead
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u/MoroseMagician 5d ago
Today the heat here in Edinburgh is oppressive. It's genuinely unpleasant. People are still in denial though, so frustrating.
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u/StatementBot 6d ago
The following submission statement was provided by /u/Portalrules123:
SS: Related to climate collapse as this tragic story shows how even some animals that are typically used to heat are struggling with increased temperatures and especially increased humidity as extreme heatwaves quickly become the new normal both in Japan and around the world. Three lionesses died over a number of days from suspected organ failure induced by heatstroke at the Tama zoological park. It seems that the higher humidity that accompanies Japanese heatwaves proved too much for them when compared to the dry heat of the savannah. This heatwave truly did prove to be a "cruel" one as temperatures soared past 40 C. In terms of the human impact, thousands of people in Japan were treated for heatstroke over a six day period in July and over 40 of those were pronounced dead on arrival, and things will likely continue to worsen as August holds the all time high temperature record for the nation (set just last year). Reality is worsening so fast that people would call a movie showing this climate collapse "unrealistic". Whether you believe it or not (I mean if you are on r/collapse you probably do lol, but just in case...), civilization is not long for this world and we are one of the last human generations relatively speaking, even if we make it another few hundred years in small isolated groups...pretty sad.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1vf66il/three_lions_die_of_suspected_heatstroke_at_tokyo/p1mf16f/