|
PHOTOGRAPH BY GARY CORONADO, LOS ANGELES TIMES/GETTY IMAGES
|
|
It’s hard to accept that something so beautiful—a fluttering highlight of North American gardens and backyards—could be gone soon. Forever.
The beloved migratory monarch butterfly, known for its twice-yearly 2,500-mile journeys, has just been declared endangered by the world’s leading authority on biological diversity. An assessment found these types of monarchs have declined by between 23 percent and 72 percent in the past decade, Nat Geo’s Natasha Daly reports.
If habitats can be preserved and pesticide use cut, there’s a sliver of hope for the fast-reproducing monarch. “If we reduce some threats,” lead assessment author Anna Walker says, "the butterfly can do the rest of the work.” (Pictured above, a monarch in a California preserve in January.)
Read the full story here. Learn more about monarchs here.
Please consider getting our full digital report and our magazine by subscribing here. Thanks!
|
|
|
|
