A forest filled with butterflies

A forest filled with butterflies

News:

1. Recently, butterfly survey was organised in Parambikulam.

Important Facts:

2. This is the fourth consecutive year that the butterfly survey is being organised in Parambikulam.
3. The survey is initiated jointly by the Department of Forest and Wildlife, Parambikulam Tiger Conservation Foundation, and the Wayanad-based Ferns Naturalists Society.
4. About Parambikulam Tiger Reserve:

• It is one of the most protected regions in the Western Ghats and was declared a tiger reserve in 2009.
• Being a protected forest area, the reserve has nearly five endemic flora varieties and has had 29 direct sightings of tigers.
• It spreads over an area of 391 sq km reserve which also includes Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary is a conservation zone and features in the list of world’s 34 bio diversity hotspots.

5. About the survey:

• The survey was held in different topographies and forest areas, including evergreen forests, dry deciduous forests, moist deciduous forests, shrubs and meadows, which lie in areas such as Aanapanthi, Parambikulam, Kuriarkutty and Nelliampathy.
• The survey spotted 221 varieties of butterflies, 11 of which were endemic to the area.
• The major species spotted include Small Palm Bob, Silverstreak Blue, Orange-tail Awl, and Red-disc Bushbrown.
• Among them, Orange-tail Awl gets active only during early morning hours and late in the evening.
• The survey team had also recorded migration patterns of the rare species Dark Blue Tiger and Common Crow.
• Buddha Peacock or Buddha Mayoori, which was recently declared as State butterfly of Kerala, was found in abundance in some areas of the forest.

6.       Involvement of tribes

• A pioneer in community-based ecotourism, Parambikulam ensures foolproof conservation with the active involvement of 234 members of six tribal settlements inside its limits.
• Ever since the Joint Forest Participatory Management was introduced, there have been no incidents of poaching in the reserve.