Bulgaria to open the first butterfly house on the Balkans

Sofia Echo

Sofia Zoopark will become home to the first lepidopterium on the Balkans when it opens on March 15. The butterflies are arriving at their new home four days earlier, on Tuesday, from Indonesia and Colombia.

The butterfly house is located in the hall of the elephant, hippopotamus, rhinoceros and crocodile habitat. From start to finish, preparing the space – about half the size of a train waggon – took six weeks. Like at the zoo in Chicago, the lepidoptera are separated from the public by netting.

The idea for the project came from Olga Uskova, a Russian woman living in Bulgaria who loves butterflies – and fairies, Ivan Ivanov, director of the zoo, told The Sofia Echo. Apparently, there is a close relationship between butterflies and fairies in the world of fantasy. Keeping with the theme, the lepidopterium has a pond in which crocodiles live, they being the "dragons".

Above the pond are cords on which the butterflies can spin their cocoons. It was Uskova, who herself is the only person to raise butterflies in Bulgaria, who contacted Ivanov, planned and organised the project and took care of finding the 200-some insects representing 20 species for their new home. "People are excited about this," he said. "They keep on asking me when it will be open."

Also, on March 10, the zoo will hold a christening ceremony for the baby kangaroo that was born two months ago; the children of Bulgaria chose to name it Sunny through a television programme's invitation to vote.

"'It'," Ivanov said, "because we do not yet know if it is a boy or a girl; we've only seen it peaking out of its mum's pouch."

The zoo, located in the southern part of the capital city in the Vitosha borough, houses 800 animals (not including insects or fish) of 264 species. It was opened in 1988 after having been moved from its original location in Borissovata Gradina. Buses 67, 73, 83, 88, 102 and 120 go to the zoo, which is open every day from 9am to 5pm (winter hours)/9am to 7pm (summer hours), with the last ticket being sold one hour before closing time.

Bulgarian news from The Sofia Echo