Heliconius sapho

A photo pulled from one of my old photo folders last night, when I was backing up and deleting a few more files. This is a Heliconius sapho butterfly, photographed in the ENMAX Conservatory at the Calgary Zoo on 20 April 2012. This past June, so much of the Zoo was devastated or totally destroyed, due to Alberta's Flood of the Century. The mainland section of the Zoo is now re-opened, but it will still be some time before the main island part is fit for the public to visit. The Conservatory, which includes the huge butterfly room, was unfortunately under water, but I don't know how much damage was done to the actual building. Quite disappointing for staff and public alike, to not be able to enjoy all these colourful, tropical butterflies this summer.

An old video by SwerveCalgary.com. Photographer Todd Korol got up close and personal with some of the Calgary Zoo’s creatures. Here, Boyd Nave takes us into the zoo’s butterfly garden and explains his role in ensuring that the butterflies “do their butterfly thing, which is, primarily, to keep people happy.” swervecalgary.com/2011/08/19/the-butterfly-garden/