TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The Toledo Zoo is offering a unique opportunity to see first-hand the migration patterns of a monarch butterfly.
Each year, thousands of monarch butterflies make their annual journey from northern breeding grounds to the high forests of Mexico, according to the Zoo.
The Zoo has bred more than 500 monarch butterflies for release as party of its butterfly conservation work. The Zoo says the butterflies are beginning to emerge and will soon be ready for release.
Before being released, the butterflies receive a unique and painless tag to identify the animal and allow the Zoo to receive data if the butterflies are spotted on the more-than 3,000-mile journey toward Michoacan, Mexico.
The Zoo says nearly 40 tags have been recovered and documented from their releases, and this year it could be your butterfly.
For $10, you can sponsor one of these monarch butterflies.
The butterflies will start their migration on September 30.
You can also wish the butterflies well on their journey with public releases each Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in Nature's Neighborhood at the Zoo at 2:30 p.m.
Zoo admission rates apply and released may be affected by weather and butterfly population numbers.
