More than 200 endangered butterflies released in Manitoba this summer
The Assiniboine Park Conservancy released more than 200 endangered butterflies back into the landscape this year.
The organization announced the results of its butterfly release program on Thursday, saying it set a new record with the release of 207 butterflies.
This year’s release included 191 critically endangered Poweshiek skipperling butterflies, which were released over three weeks in July at the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s properties in the Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in the RM of Stuartburn.
This year’s program also included the release of 16 endangered Dakota skippers.
Ashleigh Westphal, a research conservation specialist with the Assiniboine Park Conservancy, said they are thrilled with the results of the breeding and release program, and are excited about what it means for the future of these endangered species.
“When we started the release program in 2018, experts estimated there were only about 100 Poweshiek skipperling butterflies remaining in all of Canada,” Westphal said.
“We released six butterflies that year. The growth of the program and results so far are very encouraging, but we have a long way to go before this species will be secure in the wild.”
This is the fifth year the conservancy released Poweshiek skipperling, and the first time for the Dakota skippers.
This summer, the Assiniboine Park Conservancy released more than four times the number of adult butterflies it released in 2021.
The conservancy said the ongoing success of its breeding program will help the future of these endangered butterflies.
“We have seen encouraging results from our population surveys in locations where we have done releases. This suggests our efforts may be helping to stabilize the population at these specific sites. However, we will need to analyze the new data collected this summer to get a better picture of the trends,” Westphal said.
“In the future, we hope to work with partners to reintroduce Poweshiek to sites where they have been lost."
Both Poweshiek skipperling and Dakota skippers are habitat specialists, which means they need specific grassland ecosystems to survive. However, much of this habitat has been lost.
The organization notes that habitat loss, as well as climate change, extreme weather events, and the increased use of pesticides, have contributed to population declines.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
BREAKING McGill University seeks emergency injunction to remove pro-Palestinian encampment from campus
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.