An Endangered Royal Flight
- The Monarch emerges from its jeweled chrysalis
- wings creased and limp
- then, empowered by gentle movement,
- it is strong enough to
- fly from flower to flower, seeking
- nectar and a mate
- Several generations later, at summer's end,
- instinct directs the royal flight south
- Over established, yet unknown routes
- until it reaches the Mexican Sierra
- Mountain sites, owned by ejidatarios,
- lovingly loaned to the butterflies
- In Canada, US, and Mexico, this regal insect
- needs flowers to nectar, milkweed for nurseries,
- Oyamel firs for protection and
- respite from northern winters
- Its survival is a challenge to scientists,
- government officials, and landowners
- Can three countries act as one to save the
- Monarch Butterfly and its wondrous migration?
- S. Oberhauser
Morelia, Mexico 1997