Monarch Butterfly To Be Considered Endangered
Monarch butterfly is in danger of extinction due to massive drop in its global population, warned a petition launched by environmental groups. The population of Monarch butterflies was previously one billion which has now dropped to 35 million.
The petition has been filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Columbia University's Earth Institute, Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and butterfly expert Dr. Lincoln Brower in August of 2014. It called on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) to conduct conservation efforts protect the monarch butterfly under the Endangered Species Act.
The federal agency reportedly responded to the petition, saying it will conduct its own investigation regarding the state of the monarch butterfly population.
"I think the agency's review is an acknowledgement of how much trouble [the monarch butterflies are- in and the effort that it's going to take to save them," Tierra Curry, the Center for Biological Diversity's senior scientist, told Vice News.
"The major stress for monarchs is probably herbicides, but climate change is a contributing factor," said James Hansen, a climate scientist who works with the Earth Institute of Columbia University.
"I suspect that their numbers have passed a critical level that hampers reproduction during the annual migration, simply because there are not enough male-female encounters during the long journey," Hansen added.
