Tiruchy: Butterfly park hits a century, intern records rare species
TIRUCHY: Pointed Ciliate Blue, a rare species, was recently sighted at the Butterfly Park, making it the 100th recorded species since the inception of the park, in 2015.
Tropical Butterfly Conservatory Tiruchy (TBCT), commonly known as Butterfly Park, situated at Melur, near Srirangam is now a sought-after destination, with weekend footfall crossing 3,000.
Griffith Michael, 23, studying MSc Zoology at Madras Christian College, currently doing his internship with Tiruchy Forest Department, spotted the 100th butterfly. “Tiruchy Forest Department provided me with an internship which I needed as part of my course. With the help of my DSLR camera, I went to the Butterfly Park looking for the winged species. Since the department had already recorded 99 species, it was quite challenging to look for new butterflies there.”
Having spotted the Pointed Ciliate Blue, he had to confirm it by referring to books and social media groups. A Forest Officer said the Butterfly Park housed some of the rare butterfly species that cannot be seen elsewhere. Much before the park was opened for public, in November 2015, a team from Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) had conducted a baseline survey and spotted as many as 38 species.
“It was then that we planted more host plants, medicinal plants to attract the winged species. Some of the volunteers from Act of Butterflies, a Coimbatore based NGO, also took a field visit to the park. Now, we conduct drives once in 15 days to spot new butterflies,” the forest officer added.
An ecosystem is termed healthy when there are a number of butterflies and Tiruchy’s Butterfly Park does its best, the officer said.
The Forest Department has also appointed a dedicated Junior Research Fellow (JRF) who conducts field-level surveys on a daily basis in the park premises.
Speaking to Express, D Sujatha, District Forest Officer (DFO) said, “The Butterfly Park has recorded seven lakh footfalls so far. The park has a dedicated Amphitheatre that projects the life cycle of butterflies. Kids love to watch the movie playback as some of the beautiful butterflies will also get displayed in the movie."