Vizag zoo’s butterfly park reopens

After being utterly ruptured during the Hud-Hud cyclone on 12^th October 2014, the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park has repaired its butterfly park, which is ready to spread its wings and flutter away. The park, opened on Thursday, cost Rs 2.5 lakhs to undo the damage caused. In addition to this, the play facility for chimpanzees was also inaugurated on the occasion by Waltair divisional railway manager Chandralekha Mukherjee.

At present, around 15 species with 180 specimens are displayed at the butterfly park. Butterflies are coldblooded and invertebrate creatures whose life span is 2-4 weeks. It is estimated that there are about 150,000 different species of butterflies and moths (there may be many more). There are about 28,000 butterfly species worldwide, the rest are moths.

The plants, aristolochic app, bombax, caltrops, ixora, citrus app, hibiscus app, Nerium app, Murray (curry leaf), polyaithia spp, seethaphal, and maredu, which serve as food for butterflies, were purchased and planted inside the enclosure butterfly park to attract butterflies in order to complete the life cycle. The zoo authorities hope that the park will provide a place for the butterflies to lay eggs and provide a safe environment, as the greenery in the urban areas is reducing rapidly.

Vizag zoo is one among the few zoological parks in the country to display butterflies. It was on May 26, 2013, the then minister for forests Satrucharla Vijayaramaraju inaugurated the Butterfly Park. Boards depicting the life history and ecological importance of butterflies are displayed for the benefit of visitors.