Monarch butterflies are now listed as endangered.
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00:00 The migratory monarch butterfly has joined the endangered species list this week.
00:04 The IUCN indicated that the butterfly is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
00:09 The migratory monarch weighs less than a gram, but performs one of the most amazing journeys
00:13 in the animal kingdom.
00:15 Migratory monarchs travel from wintering grounds in Mexico and California to breeding grounds
00:19 in Canada and the northern United States.
00:22 A migration can stretch up to 2,500 miles and a full cycle takes months.
00:26 To survive the journey, monarchs rely on rest stops in specific habitats that provide winter
00:31 shelter for the insects.
00:33 Monarchs also rely on milkweed, the only plant their caterpillars can feed on.
00:37 However, forest habitats in Mexico and California are threatened by clear-cutting for agriculture
00:41 and development, not to mention wildfires that have been exacerbated by climate change.
00:46 Meanwhile, pesticide use kills monarchs directly while herbicides kill milkweed.
00:50 Drought is also killing milkweed and early monarch migrations triggered by warming temperatures
00:55 may mean that the monarchs are beginning their journey before milkweed is even available.
00:59 IUCN estimates that the native population of migratory monarchs has shrunk between 22
01:04 and 72 percent in the past 10 years.
01:06 The western population of these butterflies has shrunk by 99.9 percent, from a population
01:12 of 10 million in the 1980s to less than 2,000 today.
01:16 In 2020, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found that adding the monarch to the U.S.
01:20 Endangered Species List was, quote, "warranted but precluded," meaning that the butterfly
01:25 met criteria for listing under the Endangered Species Act, but that the FWS did not at the
01:30 time have enough resources to prioritize the listing due to other, more pressing listing
01:34 needs.
01:35 Anna Walker, a member of IUCN's Butterfly and Moth Specialist Group and a Species Survival
01:40 Officer at the New Mexico Biopark Society, said in a statement, "It is difficult to
01:45 watch monarch butterflies and their extraordinary migration teeter on the edge of collapse.
01:50 But there are signs of hope.
01:51 So many people and organizations have come together to try and protect this butterfly
01:55 and its habitats.
01:57 From planting native milkweed and reducing pesticide use to supporting the protection
02:01 of overwintering sites and contributing to community science, we all have a role to play
02:06 in making sure this iconic insect makes a full recovery."
02:10 [Music]