Rare and endangered species of butterflies were spotted in Vazhachal forest near Athirappilly during a nature trek done by The Butterfly Art Foundation researchers recently. Red-spot Duke, Great Evening Brown, Malabar Flash and Five-bar Swordtail were the newly spotted species in the region, pointing to the ecological importance of the forest stretch. Dr. Unni Pulikkal, nature photographer and the director of the Foundation, along with Dr.Biju, research coordinator, did the important sighting of these rare butterflies at a time when the region is under threat of immersion if the proposed Athirappilly hydel power project comes to implementation. Dr. George Mathew of Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi, has confirmed the rarity of these species which have never entered the research documents of KFRI from this region so far.
It is said that this finding can influence even the future of the Athirappilly project, in light of the environmental implications of this important sighting. Dr.Unni Pulikkal had spotted another rare and endemic species of butterfly, the Southern Duffer, from the same region two years back.
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Dr.Unni Pulikkal, who was one among the best ten nature photographers of India selected by the Better Photography Magazine last year, was the first Indian to exhibit in the prestigious Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Ohio, USA, when he did an exhibition of butterfly photographs last year in the museum. He is also invitee to the Earth-Fest to be held in Chicago next year, where he will exhibit photographs and present a paper on the Butterflies of Western Ghats. Dr. Biju was awarded doctorate by Mahatma Gandhi University for his study on the fish fauna of forest streams. He has also done extensive study on the spiders of Kerala region.”