BHOPAL: In a heartening discovery, a vibrant Monkey Puzzle butterfly has been spotted in the Pench Tiger Reserve (PTR) of south-eastern Madhya Pradesh, famously known as the ‘Land of Jungle Book’s Mowgli.’Forest guards in PTR, have now taken up photography as part of a unique conservation effort. With their mobile phones, they have helped identify nearly 100 species of butterflies and 44 species of wild mushrooms, many of which are mostly of European origin. These discoveries were made across the 1,179 sq km reserve, particularly in its 411 sq km core area.Among the butterflies, the Monkey Puzzle ‘Rathinda’ was captured on camera—believed to be the first time it has been spotted in the forests of Central India.“Each forest guard and associated watchers/chowkidars work in an average area of 5-7 square km and serve as the backbone of conservation efforts, by working tirelessly on the frontlines to protect forests and wildlife. Over the years, the round-the-clock patrolling duties to track the movement of carnivores, like tigers and leopards and preventing any possible animal poaching and tree felling in the dense forests make them feel aloof and often leaves them fatigued. The entire idea of training them in clicking perfect pictures of insects and butterflies was aimed to enrich their work, decrease monotony by incentives like photography competitions and ultimately improve their precise vision and reflexes,” said PTR’s deputy director Rajnish Singh.He added, “While large number of forest guards were engaged in the unique exercise for the last many months, over 30 of them, aided by watchers and chowkidars, have really done good. One of them Milind Gedam helped us spot the butterfly Monkey Puzzle, perhaps the first time ever in the Central Indian jungles. We’ve so far identified 100 butterfly species, which are being compiled in a booklet titled ‘Butterflies and Tiger: Photographs by the Brave Forest Guards of Pench,’ to be released on July 29 (International Tiger Day).”
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