BUTTERFLIES & BLOODSHED
Mystery of Mexican wildlife preserve
A butterfly conservationist in Mexico was found dead just days after another prominent activist’s body was discovered in a well — sparking fears that the two deaths are linked.
Raúl Hernández, a tour guide at the largest monarch-butterfly sanctuary in Michoacán state, vanished Jan. 27, and his body turned up Sunday on top of a hill in the sanctuary, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
Forensic experts said Hernández had a deep wound to his head and his body was covered in bruises.
Authorities are still probing his death — but local conservationists fear it may be linked to the recent death of the sanctuary’s manager, amid conflict between the activists and local illegal loggers.
Homero Gómez González disappeared in the same region Jan. 13, and his body was found two weeks later floating in a well, not far from the El Rosario monarch-butterfly preserve.
Investigators initially said González’s body showed no signs of trauma, but it was later revealed he had suffered a blow to the head before drowning, the BBC reported, citing autopsy results.
Conservationists immediately suspected that angry loggers — or criminal groups tied to them in the town of Ocampo — may have targeted González, who was known as Mexico’s most prominent butterfly activist.
González’s family told local media an organized-crime gang had previously threatened him. His relatives also said they received calls from people claiming to have kidnapped him and demanding ransom, according to The Washington Post.
More than 200 volunteers helped search for González — and entire local police forces in Ocampo and neighboring Angangueo were detained by prosecutors for questioning last week, the BBC reported.
González opened his sanctuary in November in an effort to stop illegal logging in the area — a key habitat for monarch butterflies, according to the report.
The country’s government has outlawed logging in the region, allowing the monarchs to flourish — with millions of the butterflies returning each winter in giant clusters to hillsides in central Mexico, where trees shield them from harsh weather. But protecting their retreats to preserve dwindling populations has created tensions between illicit timber-fellers and conservationists.
“It’s been a fight to maintain it,” González told The Washington Post last month. “And it hasn’t been easy.”