El Niño warming shifts Peruvian marine life; 4,000+ animals dead in 2026

El Niño-driven sea warming along Peru's coast is altering fish, bird, and marine mammal distributions, with over 4,000 animal deaths reported in 2026. Reduced food availability, compounded by fishing and other human pressures, threatens species recovery. The event underscores climate-driven ecosystem stress in the Humboldt Current system.