Winged wonders

BRIGHTLY coloured butterflies fluttering in a garden is a rare attraction. Bird lovers seldom get to see the winged wonders together, as it is difficult to create and maintain the various types of habitats for them.

However, the state forest department has made this possible by setting up a butterfly garden at Thenmala, 74km from the state capital of Trivandrum. The garden set up by the Entomology Department of Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) under the Thenmala ecotourism initiative will be thrown open to the visitors by the end of this month.

The garden has been set up on 2 hectares of forest land behind the musical fountain in the cultural zone by preserving the patch of the forest intact. In addition to seeing the butterflies, the visitors will be able to see Hornbills and other birds in the garden.

Thenmala is the first planned ecotourism destination in the country. The entrance to the garden is through a gate modeled on the lines of a giant Ficus tree. It will lead to the Facilitation Centre and Information Centre constructed in Kerala style.

The information centre will have a souvenir shop, office and a display room. There is a 500-metre-long nature trail on either side of which appropriate butterfly host plants have been planted.

An artificial stream with pebbles and water plants has been laid to lend a natural touch. The host plants attract and sustain butterflies. The Crotalaria plants have already attracted hundreds of Dark Blue Tiger butterflies.

Spotting the butterflies in the open environment will be a major attraction at the park. Around 40 species have been spotted in the garden at Thenmala. The park will initially have 30 to 40 varieties. Later more species would be added.

The park has been set up with the objective of conserving the winged wonders, which have been facing extinction due to indiscriminate use of pesticides, habitat destruction and reduced availability of food plants.

Though India is home to 1,502 species of butterflies, many of them are endemic and endangered. Kerala has 322 species. The KFRI already has set up two model parks — on the KFRI campus at Peechi and on the Teak Museum campus, Nilambur.

The park at Thenmala is the second butterfly park in the country. The first one with 100 species at Bangalore in Karnataka has been attracting visitors from all over the country and outside.

Story

Free entry for children soon at Guindy park

Staff Reporter

— File photo

FEE TO GO: The entrance to the Children's Park at Guindy in Chennai.

CHENNAI: Entry for children below 12 years at Children's Park will become free soon, Forest Minister N. Selvaraj announced in the Assembly on Wednesday.

Wildlife authorities said there was a steady increase in the number of visitors, particularly children, to the park. In 2004-05, a total of 2.57 lakh children visited the park; the next year it was 3.26 lakh children. In the last financial year, the number reached 3.33 lakh.

At present, the park collects a fee of Re. 1 per child.

A night safari and a butterfly park would be added to the Arignar Anna Zoological Park at Vandalur here.

Replying to the debate on demands for grants to his Ministry, Mr. Selvaraj said the Vandalur Zoological Park was ideally suited for night safari due to its strategic location.

A detailed project report was under preparation and the execution would be taken up in the current financial year itself. The proposed butterfly park would enable tourists to see a variety of species in one place.

There were 1,500 butterfly species in India and about 300 in Tamil Nadu.

A facility would be created to exhibit them in their natural environment, the Minister added.

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Date:03/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/03/stories/2007050304160100.htm