First we have the monarch
butterflies. These incredible creatures spend their summer
days in the northern parts and then migrate (leaving for another
place) to the south for the winter. They travel thousands of
miles - some almost 2900 km from Canada to Mexico. Just
looking at a map, you can see how far Canada is from Mexico, but
these little butterflies fly all the way to protect themselves
from the cold winters. Traveling so much certainly does tire
them out, which is why some of them cannot make a return trip.
These butterflies have never been to these foreign places, but
they still make the trip successfully. How do they do it?
A map showing the
monarch butterfly migration.
They travel from Canada to Mexico.
Then there are the Green sea turtles
(or the scientific term is chelonia mydas) who swim for months and
months in the east direction to migrate from a sea in Brazil in South America
to an island called Ascension Island, which is about 3200 km away.
Apparently these turtles were hatched on this island, and after they
grow up in South America, they return to their birthplace, the
Ascension Island, to hatch their own eggs.
Another example is that of some crabs
that are willing to walk about 240 km from deep water to shallow
water, just to lay their eggs.
These creatures have some kind of inborn
compass or instinct that tells them where to go and at
what is the right time for migration. No one has taught them this, most
of them have never been to the new place, but they still manage to
migrate safely. Scientists till today, cannot give good, complete
explanations for these migrations. It probably is just one of
nature's powers and mysteries.....