THREE BEEHIVES ON THE roof of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris survived a catastrophic fire on Monday.
“Our bees of Notre Dame Cathedral are still alive,” Nicolas Geant, the beekeeper, wrote in a blog post, citing confirmation from the leaders of the cathedral.
Geant told CNN that he received a call from the spokesman for the cathedral that the bees were seen flying around their hives this week, indicating they are still alive.
“Right after the fire, I looked at the drone pictures and saw the hives weren’t burnt. But there was no way of knowing if the bees had survived,” Geant told CNN. “Now I know there’s activity. It’s a huge relief!”
A photo of the hives posted to social media Wednesday showed the three hives intact, but it could not be determined whether the insects had survived. A later post confirmed the bees’ survival.
According to the Notre Dame Cathedral website, the bees were donated by their keeper, who has hives on rooftops across Paris, in the spring of 2013. They are housed on the first floor on a roof over the sacristy beneath the famous rose window. Each hive has about 60,000 bees, CNN reported.
“Our Lady Of Paris, by hosting this hive, is fully associated with the preservation of dynamic biodiversity and thus wishes to recall the beauty of creation and the responsibility of man towards her,” the site said. “Their role is indispensable in nature. The presence of bees is a sign of good health of our environment and their preservation is also saving the planet.”
Geant told CNN that the hives survived because they are located almost 100 feet below the main roof where the fire spread. Although the hives likely filled with smoke while the cathedral was burning, Geant said that wouldn’t affect the insects like it does humans because bees “don’t have lungs like us.”
The keeper has been unable to inspect the bees because of safety concerns but said he was confident that if the hives didn’t burn and bees have been seen flying around, the insects survived. Geant, who was “overjoyed” when he heard the news, called it “a miracle.”
Notre Dame Cathedral went up in flames on Monday, causing the roof and iconic spire to collapse. The 856-year-old cathedral had been under renovation, and although a cause has not been officially determined, officials speculate that an electric short circuit could be to blame.
French President Emmanuel Macron vowed to rebuild the church, which is sacred to many for both religious and cultural reasons, in five years.
“Their role is indispensable in nature. The presence of bees is a sign of good health of our environment and their preservation is also saving the planet.”
Indispensable.
That’s why Bayer/Monsanto is wiping them out of existence (or attempting to).