Butterfly park in the offing

A butterfly park, the first of its kind in the state, is in the offing at Indira Gandhi Zoological gardens in Vizag. The enclosure that would house about 20 to 50 species of butterflies is likely to be thrown open to the public in the next couple of months. The 7th enclosure of its kind, coming up with an objective to enable study of the butterfly species native to the Eastern Ghats, is being constructed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.

The butterfly park at Vizag would fulfill the long felt need of an enclosure in east coast, as all the existing butterfly enclosures are on the west coast and the Himalayan region. The enclosure which would attract children and adults alike is being put up on 500 square meters to begin with, would include butterfly species such as the Plain tiger, Blue tiger, Indian crow, striped tiger, Tawny Coster, Common Leopard, Indian Red Admiral, Swallow tails and Metal marks.