Photo: Habung Gyuthe.The Kaiser-I-Hind Teinopalpus imperialis, quite literally the ‘emperor of India', is a spectacular swallowtail butterfly whose range is restricted to high elevation, intact forests. Its habitat across its range countries is under severe pressure from logging and human activities.
Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi, a butterfly expert and winner of the 2010 Sanctuary Young Naturalist Award, was present at the meet in Ziro. In an email to Sanctuary about the discovery, he wrote “Three participants photographed Kaiser-i-Hind Teinopalpus imperialis for the first time in India. The species has garnered attention due to its huge cost in the international market, because of which it is threatened with extinction. The species is a dream sighting for all butterfly lovers."
The Kaiser-i-Hind is included in the IUCN's red list of threatened species and in India, comes under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
Author: Cara Tejpal.
