Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Butterfly photo gallery coming up at State Zoo

By STAFF REPORTER - 15 Sep 2010 12:00 AM GMT

GUWAHATI, March 10 � A range of elusive winged species would soon reveal facets of an island of biodiversity in the middle of Guwahati. For the first time, dozens of photos with information on butterflies and moths would be in public display in the Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden, all of which have been documented inside the campus.

The attempt is to bring into focus an area of biodiversity that people are not aware of, even though butterflies and moths are indicator species and thus of immense value. The other objective is to cater to the needs of students and researchers who can view and learn about the species in a single venue.

Zoo DFO, Narayan Mahanta told The Assam Tribune, �The incredible diversity of butterflies and moths would be highlighted by more than 150 photos and accompanying text�in a way they would also bring alive the biodiversity of the Zoo.�

The ongoing project started with his initiative in 2005, and forest official Monoj V Nair painstakingly took the photos of the difficult subjects over several months. Incredible as it may appear, 227 varieties of butterflies and moths have been seen inside the Zoo campus, Mahanta informed.

Some of the butterflies are marvellous examples of colour and shape, some are rare and some endemic to the region. Others have colours which provide camouflage enabling them to merge with their surroundings. The abundance of such sensitive and delicate life forms suggests that there is still hope for them inside a city, he added.

The splendid variety of butterflies and moths has been attributed to the sylvan ambience of the zoo that contains hundreds of species of flora along with natural habitats which include plains, hills and water bodies. Limited human intervention and absence of pesticides are other reasons for their proliferation.

All the information would be on display at the herbarium hall of the Zoo, where the display has been arranged in a way that they are easily readable by young students. The public should be able to enjoy the show from some time in April when the facility is formally opened.

Appreciating the new development, Kushal Choudhury of Kokrajhar Science College, an expert on butterflies, hoped the new facility would be able to bring alive the critical role butterflies play in their ecosystems. �They are efficient pollinators, an important component of the food chain, and gardens with butterflies have a therapeutic effect on young and old people. In some countries, incidentally with lesser species, butterflies have also become tools to promote tourism,� he noted.