Large Long-banded Silverline, Spindasis seliga (lone record for the country from Kaziranga).
Credit: Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi
Guwahati: Documentation of 446 species of butterflies in Assam's Kaziranga National Park (KNP) by a young lepidopterist has extended the list of tourist attractions in the park known for "Big Five" wildlife species -- Indian rhinos, Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, water buffalos and swamp deers.
Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi, researching on butterflies since 2007, has documented 446 species of butterflies in and around the 1,100 sq km Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, making it the second biggest hub of butterflies (among the protected areas) after Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh. Namdapha has about 500 species of butterflies.
The documented butterflies include 18 new species identified in India.
"This documentation will definitely extend the list of attractions for tourists visiting Kaziranga. The long term observation and records are a culmination of years of work put in by Gogoi, who is a native of Kaziranga," director of the park, Sonali Ghosh said on Wednesday. A pictorial handbook of the 446 species of the butterflies was released during the Butterfly Conservation Meet 2024, organised in Kaziranga, last month.
Ghosh said that efforts are being made to project Kaziranga as an attraction for butterfly lovers, researchers and tourists and make it a part of conservation plans. "We are planning a calendar event and a butterfly walk in the buffer areas for the butterfly lovers and researchers," she told DH.
Gogoi said the record is significant given Kaziranga's location outside the Himalayan and Patkai mountain ranges, making its high species diversity a remarkable achievement. He emphasised on making the rich diversity of butterflies a significant part of Kaziranga’s conservation plans, along with its iconic "Big Five" wildlife species.
Kaziranga is the biggest home for one-horned Indian rhinos (2,613 as per 2022 Census) and also has Royal Bengal tigers, Asian elephants, wild buffalo, swamp deers, diverse species of birds, besides others. The park was thrown open for tourists on October 1, after the Monsoon closure.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday shared a post on X applauding Gogoi's work in identification and documentation of the 446 species of butterflies in and around Kaziranga.