Weather & Science
1 in 5 Migratory Animal Species Faces Extinction, UN Says
A first-ever global survey of migratory species finds them in peril from overhunting and habitat loss, with fish in gravest danger.
Monarch butterflies alight at the Sierra Chincua Butterfly Sanctuary in Michoacan, Mexico.
Photographer: Susana Gonzalez/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Every year, mammals, birds, fish and insects make epic migrations between habitats. The humpback whale, famously, can travel 5,000 miles in a trip.
But because these animals cross national borders and frequently congregate at predictable way stops, they are uniquely vulnerable to human predation, pollution and habitat loss. As a result, one in five migratory species is at risk of extinction, according to a new report by the United Nations.