We’ll miss you, adorable little friends.

Laszlo Balogh / Reuters

Climate change is about the shifting trend lines of our environment, so it's almost impossible to attribute the endangerment of a species directly to it. But species are experiencing mass die-offs (the world has lost 50% of its wildlife in the past 40 years, according to the World Wildlife Federation) and scientists have warned that climate change is likely playing a key role.

Pikas

There are a few different types of pikas in the world, including the American pika (above) and its even-more-adorable cousin the Ili pika. Both the Ili and American pika are endangered because of habitat loss -- as the temperature rises, they're forced to move further up their mountain habitats. Pikas are very sensitive to the temperature; American Pikas can die if they're exposed to a climate as temperate as 78 degrees.

Glacier National Park Service / Via Creative Commons

Sea lions

Starving and dying sea lion pups have been washing up on California's shores in unprecedented numbers over the last few years. Warmer waters in the pacific are allowing for major algal blooms that produce a toxin called domoic acid. That toxin is eaten by the fish who eat algae. And when those fish get eaten by sea lions, the sea lions are ingesting what is basically poison. At the same time, the warm waters are pushing sardines, a key supplier of food for sea lions, further north.

The warming patterns of El Niño always cause these problems to some degree, but it's worse than it's ever been before and scientists say that climate change is to blame. The Marine Mammal Center, which takes care of sick and stranded pups, says that it is taking care of more sea lions this year than ever before in its 40 years of existence.

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty Images

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