Location: Michoacan, Mexico
Every year, they travel from eastern US and Canada
to spend their winters in central and western Mexico
But the monarch's presence in Mexico dropped from
45 acres in the mid 1990s to 7 acres in winter 2021
Scientists blame climate change, pesticides and illegal logging
While the decline is significant, winter 2021 did offer a glimmer of hope
as it saw the migratory monarch population
jump more than a third compared to 2020
(Lizbeth Cherrato Garcia, Visitor)
"I don't have the exact words to define what I feel because it is something I had never seen before; I had never imagined it. We always saw (this) through the news or documentaries but being here is a unique and different experience. What do I feel? As if (the butterflies) were falling papers, falling leaves, flying souls, so it's so many feelings woven together."