How has the monarch butterfly become an endangered species?
Answer… Depleting forest cover affects not only the ecosystem and watersheds but the survival of the monarch butterfly as well. Every autumn, millions of monarch butterflies migrate 4,000 km from Canada and the US to spend their winters in the more congenial weather in the unique Oyamel (balsam fir) forest 70 miles west of Mexico City. Studies by the National Geography Institute of the National University – UNAM, sponsored by WWF Mexico, show that between 1984 and 1999, 44% of high quality forest inside the existing reserve has been degraded due to legal and illegal logging, changes in land use and forest fires.
