• Approximately 1,500 black bears live in the national park.

    Great Smoky Mountains

    National Park NC,TN

Partner Projects: Fall, 2009

Issue 5 > Resource Roundup > Partner Projects
 
Chasing monarchs.

A school groups helps to chase down untagged monarchs in Cades Cove.

NPS photo.

Winging it

In September and October, the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont invited school kids and the public into the field to tag monarch butterflies. Tagging involves putting a small sticker near the base of a wing, so not too much weight is added to the monarch's body. Monarchs make a long migration down to winter grounds in Mexico, and fly over the Smokies on their 2,000 mile journey.

Prior to beginning this study, said tagger Wanda DeWaard, no one was sure how many monarchs flapped over the Smokies or if monarchs spotted here ever made it to their final stop. Now, butterflies tagged here have been found in Mexico, confirming that the monarchs that fly through here do indeed winter with the rest.

Return to Resource Roundup: Fall, 2009.

Did You Know?

Visitors can often spot bears in trees at the edges of forests.

Approximately 1,500 black bears live in the park. This equals a population density of approximately two bears per square mile. Bears can be found throughout the park, but are easiest to spot in open areas such as Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley.