The monarch butterfly isn’t just a pretty sight—it’s an essential pollinator that keeps our planet healthy. But in the last 40 years, their population has dropped by a staggering 90%, leaving them on the brink of extinction. Jaime Rojo, a photographer and National Geographic Explorer with a background in conservation, has been documenting monarch butterflies for the last 20 years. His series, Saving the Monarchs, delves into their captivating behavior, the challenges they face, and the ongoing efforts to protect them.
Rojo first encountered a monarch butterfly in 2004 after moving to Mexico from Spain, and he was instantly captivated by their beauty and resilience. The photographer recalls, “Since that day, I must have visited the wintering sanctuaries of the monarchs at least 20 times, but it wasn’t until relatively recently that I started to explore the whole migration route in North America, documenting the natural history of the monarchs, the environmental threats, and the people working to protect it.”
One standout image from the Saving the Monarchs series, Single Monarch, was featured on the cover of National Geographic in January 2024. It captures a single butterfly, wings outstretched, nestled among hundreds of others in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, Mexico.
“A single latecomer joins the others for the night, stretching its wings as it maneuvers to squeeze into the popular roosting spot,” Rojo explains. “The butterflies’ extreme closeness provides them with warmth and protection.”
In another image, titled Streaming Monarchs, Rojo captures hundreds of butterflies mid-flight. “Migrating monarchs winter in the same oyamel fir groves that sheltered earlier generations,” reveals Rojo. “I had to shoot 20,000 frames over the course of three weeks to get this image exactly as I wanted.”
Across North America, scientists, conservationists, farmers, and Indigenous communities are joining forces to protect the monarch’s habitat and secure their future. You can play a part in saving these incredible butterflies by purchasing museum-quality photography prints from Rojo’s Saving the Monarchs series. Sixty percent of all profits support Indigenous communities through Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA) and organizations dedicated to preserving and restoring the monarch population, including Monarch Watch and The Conservation Fund for the Neovolcanic Axis (FOCEN).
Explore the stunning Saving the Monarchs photo series below, and shop prints in varying sizes of your favorite shots on Vital Impacts’s website. Vital Impact is a women-led non-profit dedicated to sharing the challenges and solutions of local communities through art and environmental journalism.
Photographer Jaime Rojo has been documenting monarch butterflies for the last 20 years.
His series, Saving the Monarchs, delves into their captivating behavior, the challenges they face, and the ongoing efforts to protect them.
You can play a part in saving these incredible butterflies by purchasing museum-quality photography prints from Rojo’s series.
