Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park-Moodbidri enters into ‘World Book of Records’-UK
Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park, near Belvai of Moodbidri-DK has entered into ‘World Book of Records’-London, UK for their work on Conservation and hosting Awareness programmes.
Mangaluru: ‘Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park’ near Belvai in Moodabidri was honoured by ‘World Book of Records’ London, UK for their work on conservation and hosting awareness program. This private nature reserve, spread over 7.35 acres of semi-forest land houses many interesting butterfly species. The brainchild behind the formation of this Park is Sammilan Shetty, a lecturer in hospitality management, who has spent few lakhs of Rupees on nectar-rich flora that attract and encourage the breeding of butterflies and also towards managing the park.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Sammilan Shetty said “The season for butterflies has just started now…! Make a visit and your way of looking butterflies will change. My efforts in designing and maintaining have paid off, with this international recognition to the park in World Book of Records. It’s indeed an honour and moment of pride for me on this achievement. There is a motive to carry out more study and work on butterflies and environmental awareness. The park was inaugurated in August 2011 and today it attracts hundreds of students, nature lovers and interested every day. It provides special opportunity to study, conduct research about the winged beauties. There are 148 butterfly species in the park including five rare species :
Winged beauties ….
Butterflies have fascinated man for ages. Their colorful fluttering wings invite our awe. Children love to chase them and poets get inspired to write odes to them. Their strange life pattern baffles even the wisest scientists, while nature lovers owe their gratitude for the priceless role played by these winged beauties in perpetuating life on earth. The butterfly is indeed a unique and amazing creature which deserves our attention and careful study.
Butterflies and their Conservation:
Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera. The term ‘Lepidoptera’ refers to the scaly wing, i.e., their wings are covered by loosely attached scales, which give them their remarkable colors and patterns. Our country harbours around 1,200 species. The Western Ghats has recorded 339 species of butterflies.
Apart from their incredible aesthetic appeal, butterflies form an important part of our ecosystem. Their transformation from egg to caterpillar, then pupa and the adult emerging out of it, is truly an amazing phenomenon to witness. They are a significant part of nature’s food web and they are good pollinators too. Some species of butterflies are used as ‘indicator’ organisms to identify habitats that are critical and require immediate attention for conservation.
Hence humankind can neglect butterflies only to our own peril and every effort must be put to study, conserve and protect butterflies.
About Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park:
Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park was set up in the year 2011 by Sammilan Shetty, a young nature lover and butterfly enthusiast. Situated at Belvai, at the foothills of the Western Ghats, (on Moodbidri – Karkala road), the park is a treasure house of a wide variety of butterflies belonging to this region. The park is spread across 7.35 acres of land and hosts more than 100 species of butterflies, including some of the endemic and most dazzling butterflies of the world.
The park is developed on natural greenery and the butterflies are also natural inhabitants of the park. The park respects the butterfly’s freedom and no dome or enclosure is maintained to keep them trapped within the park. Only suitable conditions which are conducive to different varieties of butterflies are created to attract them to the park. The park hosts a significant variety of naturally found host plants and the result is the thriving bio-diversity in the park. Efforts to propagate more native host plants to support the caterpillar stage of butterflies are in progress. The park is being run with service motive and is not a commercial undertaking.
Mission of the Park:
-To create awareness and educate visitors, especially children, regarding butterflies and make them understand their importance in nature
-To conserve the butterfly fauna of Western Ghats and to give a chance for the butterflies to live.
-To provide a protected habitat for butterflies of Western Ghats biosphere
– To undertake scientific study and research on butterflies
– To provide people with an uplifting experience by viewing and enjoying the beauty of butterflies
Park Experiences:
Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park is a dedicated effort for education and conservation of butterflies.
– Powerpoint, Video show & Lecture – an educational presentation of all you need to know about butterflies, followed with an interaction with Sammilan Shetty, the founder of the park.
– Park Walk through – a rare opportunity to see different stages of the butterfly life cycle – butterflies, their eggs, caterpillars and pupa – live in nature in their natural habitat
– Photography and videography
The life cycle of a butterfly is one of the most fascinating phenomena in nature, where it undergoes complete metamorphosis, consisting of four distinct stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa and adult. This park has totally recorded 138 species of butterflies out of 339 species found in the Western Ghats.
Some of the Rare butterflies recorded from here are: Blue Nawab; Aberrant Oakblue; Banded Royal; Tamil Oakblue; Orchid Tit. Some of the Endemic species found in the park are: Malabar Banded Peacock; Malabar Rose; Tamil Lacewing and Southern Birdwing
About Founder of the Park- Sammilan Shetty :
Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park founded in the year 2011, with the aim of conserving the dwindling butterflies of Western Ghats, was the brainchild of a passionate butterfly lover and conservationist, Sammilan Shetty. A born nature lover from a village called Belvai near Moodabidri, he set up this wonderful paradise of butterflies. Born on May 23, 1985, in Belvai, he did his schooling at Rotary English Medium School, Moodbidri and then studied at Sri Bhuvanendra College, Karkala. Born and brought up in a village environment, made a great influence in his life. Having spent most of his free time during childhood days roaming in the paddy fields and secondary forests near his home, observing birds, searching for their nests, admiring fishes in streams and rivers, he enjoyed almost all living creature that he came across, whether an arthropod or a mollusk or an annelid.
His special interest for butterflies grew when he was allotted a project on “Study of local butterflies” by his Zoology teacher Shri Ashok C H, during his graduation days at Alva’s College Moodbidri, in the year 2006. Since then he has been keenly observing these winged beauties and dedicated himself to conserve them. The idea of setting up a butterfly park for conservation was born after he came across a write up on, Gardening for Butterflies-by Isaac Kehimkar in his book, “The Book of Indian Butterflies”. This later lead to serious awareness programmes and conservation activities through the park in Belvai Village.
This is Karnataka’s first private butterfly park. Sammilan Shetty was featured in Amazing Indians Season III by Times Now as an “Exceptional Eco Saviour”, for his work on Butterfly Conservation. The park has been successful in providing a protected habitat for butterflies of Western Ghats and to undertake scientific study and research on butterflies. This park has also inspired fellow nature enthusiasts to create their own butterfly garden and be a part of this conservation drive.
SAMMILAN SHETTY’S BUTTERFLY PARK
13, Butterfly Park Rd, Belvai, Karnataka 574213
Phone: 98459 93292