Monarch butterflies.Photo: Yichuan Cao/NurPhoto via Getty
One of North America’s most recognizable insect species, the migratory monarch butterfly, has been added to International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) endangered species list, the organizationannouncedThursday.
According to theAssociated Press, the designation of “endangered” on theIUCN’s Red Listplaces the eye-catching orange and black creatures two steps away from extinction.
Aside from its beautiful coloring, the migratory monarch, a subspecies of the monarch butterfly, is known for making long journeys. The insects spend the summer in Canada and the northern United States and then migrate to California and Mexico for the winter, the IUCN explained in their release on the migratory monarch butterfly’s endangered status.
According to IUCN, the world’s migratory monarch butterfly population has declined between 22% to 72% over the past ten years.
Nonmigratory monarch butterflies, which live in Central and South America, were not added to the IUCN’s Red List, the AP explained.
The migratory monarch butterfly’s decline is due to many factors, the IUCN shared, including loss of habit, the use of pesticides, and climate change.
Monarch butterfly.SUSANA GONZALEZ/AFP/Getty
The update from IUCN also explained that all of the surviving sturgeon species “are now at risk of extinction due to dams and poaching, pushing the world’s most Critically Endangered group of animals yet closer to the brink.”
The IUCN included good news in its update, explaining that there has been a 40% increase in the population of tigers worldwide since their last tiger assessment in 2015.
source: people.com
