Butterfly Watching at Peppara WLS near Trivandrum

I was fortunate to witness the marvel of untouched and unpolluted beauty of the Peppera WLS near Thiruvananthpuram in Kerala, India. We got an invitation from Dr Kalesh Sadasivan, Secretary TNHS Thiruvananthapuram to be a part of the annual Butterfly Survey at Nayaar and Peppara WLS in Kerala. Me, Rohit Girotra and Nitin Ravikanth escorted by two FD officials trekked into the wilderness of the elephant country of Kerala and recorded more than 100 species of Butterflies. For me this trip was memorable since I met a few lifers during the trip. I am presenting some unforgettable moments during the trip.

The Pandipath Range on our left.

We started our trek to Attayar River in Peppara WLS on 14th Dec 2012 in the early morning and on our way witnessed the mesmerizing beauty of the western ghats. Our trek was nearly 4km before we reached the camping site beside a river stream and you know that site was a protected cave.

Me and Rohit in cave

We witnessed the magic moments with beautiful waterfalls on our way and clicked them at every place.

Water fall at Peppara WLS

The butterfly density was not very promising due to very dry weather in the southern parts of Kerala. However we were fortunate to click a few rare beauties:

Orchid Tit (Chliaria othona)

A rather un-common butterfly in the Southern India, the Orchid Tit (Chliaria othona) is a small but strikingly beautiful butterfly of the lycaenidae family.

Small Palm-Bob (Suastes minuta)

The Small Palm-Bob (Suastes minuta) is a rare butterfly of the Hespiiradae family. We were extremely lucky to click this one near a stream.

Pale Four-line Blue (Nacaduba hermus)

The Pale Four-line Blue (Nacaduba hermus) is another un-common butterfly that we clicked near a stream along with many other butterflies.

Nilgiri Tiger (Parantica nilgiriensis)

The Nilgiri tiger (Parantica nilgiriensis) was spotted on 15-12-12 on our way to the base camp at Bonnacord Tea Estate. It was another lifer for me.