KOCHI: On the occasion of World Wildlife Day, the forest department will unveil a mobile application to help identify various species of butterflies in the Western Ghats on Sunday. The application has been developed by Idukki Government Engineering College in association with the divisional forest office (DFO) at Mankulam.
The forests under the Mankulam division, which have been included in the Unesco World Heritage list, are considered a treasure house of biodiversity.
“Around 265 of the 336 species of butterflies found in Kerala have been spotted in Mankulam. In an attempt to create awareness on the rich biodiversity, we have developed an application that will help identify more than 300 species of butterflies endemic to the Western Ghats. The application has been developed to explore the possibilities of ChatGPT and artificial intelligence,” said Mankulam DFO Subhash KB.
Any user can click the photo of a butterfly and upload it on the app that functions on Telegram Bot. The app will identify the butterfly and provide all details regarding the species. The App has been designed to help students, researchers and tourists who are interested in conservation.
It is a brainchild of K B Subhash who played a key role in implementing the Vidya Vanam project in schools which helped create awareness on forest conservation among students.
The app was developed by a team led by S Santhosh Kumar, professor, Idukki Government Engineering College. The details of various species of butterflies were collected by Travancore Natural History Society member Dr Kamalesh.
World Wildlife Day: March 3