Malacca Butterfly Park and Reptile Sanctuary

Hey guys!

The cousin has arrived from Australia for about a week or so and the parental units thought it might be a good idea to bring him to Malacca. The original plan was for us to go to the A Famosa resort but upon checking their entree fees we were forced to reconsider. Instead, I thought it might be a wonderful opportunity to check out the Malacca Butterfly Park and Reptile Sanctuary. As far as I recall, the last time I made a visit to this place was almost ten years ago! Over a decade! The grounds of the establishment was fairly huge, larger even than the Penang Butterfly Farm although I must say the actual butterfly enclosure itself was dissapointingly small. Quiet a lot of butterflies though, for such a small area.

Really quaint Choclate Albatros Butterfly (Appias Lyncida)

I think this is a Common Crow Butterfly (Euploea Core)

A lovely Malay Lacewing Butterfly (Cethosia Biblis) almost as strikingly coloured as the Ixora it was feeding on



Some sort of red-bodied Swallowtail, possibly Atrophaneura Phegeus



Not to forget the cryptic Indian Leaf Butterfly (Kallima Inacchus) that looks like a dead leaf with its wings folded...

only to reveal splashes of iridescent blue and orange when it flies!

A very large swallowtail butterfly, possibly an Andaman Helen (Papillio Prexaspes) ?

And of course, the majestic birdwing butterflies. This one is the endangered Yellow Birdwing (Troides Helena) which feeds on the Aristolchia vine.

I am particularly fond of the birdwing species because, despite their reputations as strong fliers they are usually also the most agreeable to being handled by humans. This one allowed me to gently lift up its forewing to reveal the beautiful yellow patterns underneath.



Overall, I would say that the number of butterfly species present at the park was not bad for a enclosed walkway taking less than one minute to complete. On the other hand, what the facillity lacked in butterflies they made up for with other animals. They had many small animals and reptiles

like these incredibly cute Slow Lorises



Turtles



And even a pair of very handsome looking leapords.

Being a Reptile Sanctuary as well, there was no shortage of gators or snakes, of the latter I managed to embark on a most heart-thumping experience through the claustrophobic snake walkway - an enclosed area positively packed to the brim with black and yellow mangrove snakes

 

....I swear one of them actually touched me!

And last but not least, something I can appreciate as well as an aviarist... BIRDS! They should have called this place the butterfly, reptile and BIRD sanctuary because they probably had mroe birds there than any other animals.


The extremely large, and extremely endangered Palm Cockatoo greeting visitors at the entrance

Lovebirds in the aviary

And a white peacock...which just did not open its tail feathers (possibly because they kept it together with another male.

The park was fairly vacant when I entered but apparently it is quite popular with the tourists and visitors alike because no sooner than when I began to leave (I got there very early in the morning) did tour busses start flocking the area. In fact, on my way out I noticed the Malacca Zoo with an even longer queue to get in! Now, if only I had known earlier there was a zoo as well... anyway spent the rest of the day at Jonker Street and then head back home. Traffic on the way back was phenomenaly BAD! Left Malacca at 3.30 and didn't reach KL till around dinner time! Someone should do something about all those unnessescary traffic lights at Ayer Keroh! ... I'm just saying.