Todd
Todd Fielding Cooper was tragically killed on October 9,1998—he was only 16 years old. Miraculously, twenty years later, on October 27, 2018, we released a male monarch butterfly in his memory.
What makes this event so miraculous? I did not know Todd or his mother Anne.
Lisa, a friend of mine, knew Anne and brought her over to my house the day we released his butterfly.
As we walked into my backyard, Anne pointed to the house behind mine and said, “My parents live there.” Lisa started crying. It was the last place Anne saw Todd alive. He was killed less than one mile from my house.
I placed a small circular tag on Todd’s butterfly, which has three specific letters and numbers to track his migration to Mexico. Monarch Watch distributes these tags and the data collected aids in research. Todd’s tag numbers are ZEU 853.
It was a pleasure to raise and release a monarch butterfly in Todd’s memory.
Location: Athens, Georgia