Hummingbirds are in danger of extinction due to witchcraft and the promise of love on Valentine's Day

What lovers swear most of all on Valentine's Day is eternal love.

With flowers, letters and serenades, many find the courage to declare their feelings to the person who has stolen their dream and is the owner of their joy.

For some, the value, the letter and the flower are not enough;

They resort to less orthodox methods of conquest such as witchcraft and binding.

In this country full of symbolism and magical realism, the hummingbird, associated with a good omen when it crosses your path and flutters around, is captured and then “prepared” to reach the heart of the loved one.

The shocking practice has become popular in recent years;

It consists of carrying the small bird, dead and dry, in your shirt pocket.

The witcher assures that he will find a partner and will not leave his side.

The only concrete thing he has achieved is to put 39 of the 57 species that inhabit Mexican territory at risk of extinction, according to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

There are 57 species of suckers in Mexico, although due to a significant lack of studies the number of species could reach up to 67. These data are shared in the bimonthly bulletin of the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO).

The tiny birds have been shrouded in mysticism since pre-Hispanic times;

Its iridescent plumage and flapping of its wings up to 80 times per second were a symbol of good luck or a good omen.

Hummingbirds rescued after being injured in Mexico City. Gerardo Vieyra (Getty Images)

In environmental matters, the positive impact that hummingbirds have as pollinators stands out.

"When taking nectar, hummingbirds collect pollen from flowers on their heads, which they in turn deposit on other flowers, thus playing a key role in the biology of the reproduction of many plant species," reports the CONABIO.

Another characteristic of the species is that at least 14 of the 57 known species are endemic;

That is, they can only live in specific places.

It is also the only down jacket that can fly backwards or suspend still in the same place in the air.

María del Coro Arizmendi, a biologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and an expert on suckers, together with Humberto Berlanga, coordinator of the Conservation of North American Birds, describe in their book Hummingbirds of Mexico and North America, what the current problems of the myrtlesuckers.

“All hummingbird species are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which includes all species that, while not currently necessarily in danger of extinction, could reach that situation unless trade in these species is subject to strict regulation and effective control.

Love is the closest thing that exists to magic.

It makes you feel invincible, every day is sunny, luck walks next to you, dogs look at you and wag their tails with happiness.

But there is no reason to deprive a living being of life and use it in a gruesome ritual.

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