The presence of the Monarch butterfly in Mexican hibernating forests fell by 26% in December, reported the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

Every year, millions of butterflies arrive in Mexico after traveling thousands of kilometers from North America, fleeing the harsh boreal winter.

However, in December they only occupied 2.1 hectares of forest compared to the 2.83 reported in the same month of 2019, the WWF said in a report released on Thursday.

Climate change had a “considerable impact” on the migration pattern of the Monarch butterfly, as well as the change in land use and the reduction of milkweed in their breeding grounds in the United States, he explained.

The forests in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, where the tiny insect, admired for the delicate beauty of its wings, establishes its main hibernating colonies, are typically a major tourist attraction.

But visitors to the site have collapsed during the pandemic, sanctuary officials said.

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