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A monarch butterfly's life has been saved after one of its broken wings was repaired with help from the New York Nature Center.
The migratory pollinator will now be able to travel thousands of kilometers south to Florida or Mexico for the winter.
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Earlier this month Sweetbriar Nature Center in Smithtown, Long Island, shared a video of the procedure on social media.
The private, non-profit center operates a wildlife rehabilitation clinic for injured, sick and orphaned animals.
“When a Good Samaritan called and asked if we could help an injured monarch butterfly, we didn’t hesitate.” The center wrote on Instagram on October 2. “She brought it over and we got to work.”
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Janine Bendixen, the center's director of wildlife rehabilitation, said the butterfly could neither flap its wings nor fly when it arrived.
“I searched the floor for a dead butterfly and found a monarch.” Bendixen told CBS New York. “The wing was in perfect shape.”
The procedure involved removing the damaged part of the orange and black wing.
“Using the wing of a deceased butterfly, we carefully matched it to the broken wing and performed a delicate repair,” the center said.
In the video, the butterfly is held down while an employee carefully cuts off the damaged part of the wing. Having carefully attached the new wing, the butterfly manages to flap it several times before it is released.
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Bendixen said the procedure took five minutes and involved some heavy lifting.
“It was so difficult because that butterfly could fall apart if I pressed too hard,” Bendixen said. “We used contact cement, cornstarch and a small piece of wire to hold the butterfly.”
She said cutting off the damaged part of the wing will not harm the butterfly because there are no nerve endings or blood flow to the outer edge of the wing.
“The result? You would never guess that this monarch flies with a new wing,” the center said. “Watching him take off brought tears to my eyes – this tiny traveler now has a second chance at life and at completing his incredible journey.”
Bendixen said the video, which has gone viral and received millions of views, has inspired others to try the procedure.
“I get calls from Minnesota, Costa Rica, California,” she said. “That butterfly would have died if we hadn't tried. We need hope in this world today.”
The center said the migratory instincts of monarch butterflies had baffled researchers. It is believed that the sun, the Earth's magnetic field and other signals found in nature help them travel long distances each year.
“For some reason, generation after generation they reach the same forests and groves,” they write in the center. “We’re just happy to help this person find their way there too.”
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