Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — If you're planning a trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in November, keep an eye out for some migrating monarch butterflies.
Each year, monarch butterflies all across North America migrate south to Mexico, and the Smokies are one of the natural routes.
Erin Canter, manager of science literacy and research at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, said the butterflies are on the tail end of their journey, fluttering through parts of the park like Cades Cove.
In 2022, the ICUN officially declared the monarch butterfly an endangered species, and people can play a role in protecting them.
Canter said the reason the monarch numbers are declining is most likely due to the lack of milkweed, the only species of plant they lay eggs on.
"Planting native milkweed, like milkweed that is native to your region, can really really help increase the number of monarchs that you have," Canter said. "Just make sure there's always something kind of flowering throughout the season that would allow them to have, even the adults, something to nectar on."
You can't catch butterflies in the park without a permit so it's best to leave them alone on their southbound flight and just observe from afar.
Canter said Tremont hosts a tagging event each year so people can learn about monarch butterflies and how the tags track the butterflies' migration.