US-NATURE-CONSERVATION-ANIMAL

Monarch butterflies are seen as they overwinter in a protected area inside Natural Bridges State Beach in Santa Cruz, California on January 26, 2023. - As devastating storms pounded California, nature lovers feared for fragile, endangered monarch butterflies that winter here as part of a seemingly magical migration pattern. The colorfully winged insects that travel vast distances over the course of generations have been closely watched here since they neared extinction just three years ago. As soon as the sun rose one January morning, volunteers began counting monarch butterflies, finding them clustered atop cypress trees in a sanctuary in the California coast town of Pacific Grove. (Photo by Amy Osborne / AFP) (Photo by AMY OSBORNE/AFP via Getty Images)