Biosphere ReserveUNESCO World HeritageBiosphere Reserve
Monarch Butterfly
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Michoacán/State of Mexico)Designated in 1986562 km²
The overwintering site of the monarch butterfly, after a migration of up to 4,500 km from Canada
Area
562 km²
Designated in
1986
Region
Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt (Michoacán/State of Mexico)
Declared a reserve in 1986 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008, it protects the oyamel fir forests where the eastern population of the monarch butterfly overwinters after a migration of up to 4,500 km from Canada and the northern United States — a migration unlike any other, because no individual butterfly completes the round trip: several successive generations do it between them, guided by a mechanism science still does not fully understand. Each winter, tens of millions of butterflies literally cover the trunks and branches of the firs, in one of the most spectacular gatherings of migratory insects on the planet, now threatened by illegal logging and climate change.
Location
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Monarch Butterfly: 38 documented species
Mammals9Birds19Reptiles2Insecta
Flora and ecosystems
Ecosystems found in Mexico, where Monarch Butterfly lies.
Tropical rainforestDesertMarine / coastal
Experiences in this park
HikingBirdwatching
Wildlife you can see now
What is worth looking out for this month in Mexico?
Now is a good time: Veracruz River of Raptors (20 August to 20 November (peak in the first two weeks of October))
Now is a good time: Great white shark aggregation at Guadalupe Island (July to November (some years into January))
Similar parks
Which other parks are like this one?
Same country: Mexico
Same country: Mexico
Same country: Mexico
Same country: Mexico
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Based on what we already know about this park.
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