Monarch Butterflies tagged at the OKC Zoo reach Mexico!

In Fall of 2022, over 40 OKC Zoo team members tagged 100 monarch butterflies as part of the annual monarch tagging through Monarch Watch. The Zoo has participated in this community science program for 25 years and the project helps us understand how habitat changes, weather patterns, climate change and more affects monarch butterfly populations and migrations.

After a successful tagging season at the Zoo, one male and one female monarch that were tagged by Zoo team members made their yearly journey to Mexico and were found in El Rosario, 1,295 miles from the Zoo! Oklahoma is in the migration pathway for the endangered monarch butterfly and the Zoo is a certified waystation for these butterflies. Conservation efforts for this iconic insect also benefit other pollinators whose populations are also declining.