Monarch Butterflies Return to California
2021-11-22
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1There is new hope for the future of a population of endangered butterflies in the American state of California.
2Last year, a count of the orange-and-black Western monarchs reached a record low of about 1,900.
3But this year, butterfly counters are reporting tens of thousands more Western monarchs.
4The insects live along California's central coast in winter.
5The non-profit science group Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation carries out the official study every year.
6It just opened the first period of this year's count on November 13.
7But it says early reports are positive.
8Sarina Jepsen is director of Endangered Species at Xerces Society.
9She says volunteer counters have reported the presence of as many as 50,000 monarchs in the last few weeks.
10Jepsen says the finding is "...not a recovery,
11but we're really optimistic and just really glad that there are monarchs here and that gives us a bit of time to work toward recovery of the Western monarch migration."
12In the 1980s, millions of Western monarchs gathered in trees from northern California down to western Mexico.
13Now, their wintering sites are mostly on California's central coast.
14Western monarch butterflies travel south from the Pacific Northwest to California each winter.
15They return to the same places and even the same trees, where they gather.
16The monarchs usually arrive in California at the beginning of November.
17They spread across the country once warmer weather arrives in March.
18The Western monarch butterfly population has decreased by more than 99 percent since the 1980s.
19Another monarch population on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains travels from southern Canada and the northeastern United States to spend the winter in western Mexico.
20Scientists estimate the monarch population in the eastern U.S. has fallen about 80 percent since the mid-1990s.
21Monarchs from across the West migrate yearly to about 100 wintering sites along central California's Pacific coast.
22One of the best-known wintering places is the Monarch Grove Sanctuary in the city of Pacific Grove.
23Pacific Grove, California, known as "Butterfly Town, USA," has worked for years to help the decreasing monarch population.
24The city holds a parade to celebrate the butterflies every October.
25It also bans human interference with the monarchs.
26The crime carries a $1,000 fine.
27Last year, no monarchs appeared in Pacific Grove.
28But this year, an early count found that more than 13,000 of the insects had moved in.
29Scientists do not know why the population increased this year.
30But Jepsen said it is likely a combination of reasons, including better conditions on their breeding grounds.
31Monarch butterflies lack state and federal legal protection that could keep their territory from being destroyed.
32Last year, the butterflies were denied federal protection.
33But the insects are now among the candidates for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.
34I'm Jonathan Evans.
1There is new hope for the future of a population of endangered butterflies in the American state of California. Last year, a count of the orange-and-black Western monarchs reached a record low of about 1,900. 2But this year, butterfly counters are reporting tens of thousands more Western monarchs. The insects live along California's central coast in winter. 3The non-profit science group Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation carries out the official study every year. It just opened the first period of this year's count on November 13. But it says early reports are positive. 4Sarina Jepsen is director of Endangered Species at Xerces Society. She says volunteer counters have reported the presence of as many as 50,000 monarchs in the last few weeks. 5Jepsen says the finding is "...not a recovery, but we're really optimistic and just really glad that there are monarchs here and that gives us a bit of time to work toward recovery of the Western monarch migration." 6In the 1980s, millions of Western monarchs gathered in trees from northern California down to western Mexico. Now, their wintering sites are mostly on California's central coast. 7Western monarch butterflies travel south from the Pacific Northwest to California each winter. They return to the same places and even the same trees, where they gather. The monarchs usually arrive in California at the beginning of November. They spread across the country once warmer weather arrives in March. 8The Western monarch butterfly population has decreased by more than 99 percent since the 1980s. 9Another monarch population on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains travels from southern Canada and the northeastern United States to spend the winter in western Mexico. Scientists estimate the monarch population in the eastern U.S. has fallen about 80 percent since the mid-1990s. 10Monarchs from across the West migrate yearly to about 100 wintering sites along central California's Pacific coast. One of the best-known wintering places is the Monarch Grove Sanctuary in the city of Pacific Grove. 11Pacific Grove, California, known as "Butterfly Town, USA," has worked for years to help the decreasing monarch population. The city holds a parade to celebrate the butterflies every October. It also bans human interference with the monarchs. The crime carries a $1,000 fine. 12Last year, no monarchs appeared in Pacific Grove. But this year, an early count found that more than 13,000 of the insects had moved in. 13Scientists do not know why the population increased this year. But Jepsen said it is likely a combination of reasons, including better conditions on their breeding grounds. 14Monarch butterflies lack state and federal legal protection that could keep their territory from being destroyed. Last year, the butterflies were denied federal protection. But the insects are now among the candidates for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. 15I'm Jonathan Evans. 16Haven Daley and Olga R. Rodriguez reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 17____________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19optimistic - adj. having or showing hope for the future : expecting good things to happen 20glad - adj. feeling pleasure, joy, or delight 21breeding - n. the process by which young animals, birds, etc., are produced by their parents