When Chennaiites chased butterflies

Living in the concrete jungles that our cities have turned into, our future generations have been left with such little opportunity to spot birds and butterflies the way we did as children. In an attempt to bridge the gap between wildlife conservationists and common people, and to demonstrate that everyone can be part of conserving the insect, bird and animal species, conservation start-up Thicket Tales took birth about a year ago. Through their butterfly walks, the start-up is reintroducing and familiarising children and adults with the winged creatures.

On a bright and sunny morning, a group of butterfly enthusiasts recently gathered at the state-run Tholkappia Poonga, or Adyar Eco Park, to spot butterflies. “Butterflies start coming out at this time of the year, from July till September, when there are usually rains. During the walk we could spot a small salmon Arab butterfly laying eggs on a plant, and also the spot swordtail butterflies. Depending upon the rainfall, there is a change in the number of butterflies and their kinds spotted,” says Vikas Madhav, a butterfly enthusiast, who led the walk.

The common emigrant butterfly (light green coloured), common lime butterfly (in black colour with white spots) and lime blue butterflies (brown coloured) are some of the most popularly seen kinds in our city, he adds. One can look out for these butterflies not only at bigger parks like the Guindy National Park or Adyar Eco Park, but also at any smaller local parks where there is foliage and flowering plants, informs Vikas, who has been leading similar walks on butterflies, moths and birds for the past few years.

Sai Devi, the founder of Thicket Tales, which also holds bird and snake walks, says the walks aim to remove misconceptions about conservation of insects, birds and animals. “We want people to have the knowledge of butterflies and birds that exist along with us and that they can also be part of conserving them. Just by ensuring that we have more plants at our homes, we can provide the green cover to lay eggs on. So, we have been working with schools, colleges and companies through various walks to highlight how they can help in protecting our fauna,” she says.

With the rise in popularity for wildlife photography, particularly on social media, many photographers end up disturbing the insects, birds and animals in order to get their ‘perfect’ picture, laments Sai Devi. She also plans to conduct a ‘nocturnal walk’ in the city soon, wherein people can walk during late evenings along with herpetologists to learn about snakes.