Sikkim celebrates golden jubilee of Statehood with race to watch butterflies
GUWAHATI
A race to watch butterflies has been one of the highlights of the celebrations marking the 50th year of Sikkim's Statehood.
Sikkim transitioned from a protectorate to India's 22nd State on May 16, 1975.
In Frames: Butterfly effect
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'We started the 16-day Butterthon, the first-of-its-kind event specific to butterflies, on May 1. This is not a test of speed but a leisurely race to spot the ecologically important butterflies across Sikkim,' Sonam Wangchuk Lepcha, the president of the Butterfly Society of Sikkim-TPCF, said.
TPCF expands to Thamblyok Putali Charphemba Famiyap, which, respectively, translates into butterfly in four languages in the Himalayan State – Lepcha, Nepali, Limboo, and Bhutia.
Several lepidopterists, ornithologists, and citizen scientists from other parts of India and abroad joined the event scheduled to conclude on May 16, marking the completion of Sikkim's 50th year as a State. The participants include Indian Peter Lobo, American Joseph Coleman Thompson Jr, and Sri Lankan Indika Upul Jayatissa.
Mr. Lepcha said that foreigners have, for the first time, visited Sikkim specifically to watch butterflies.
The Butterfly Society of Sikkim-TPCF said the event had been organised to promote butterfly watching as a new form of tourism in the State and contribute to the celebration of Sikkim's 'golden year'.
Members of the Butterfly Society have been helping visitors spot and document butterflies in the 7,086 sq. km State's jungles and high-altitude meadows.
About 700 species of butterflies, almost half the number recorded across India, thrive in Sikkim. Of these, some 420 species or 61% of the butterflies in the State are concentrated in the 78 sq. km Dzongu area adjoining the Khangchendzonga National Park and Biosphere Reserve.
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