Wild Wonders

First published in Sanctuary Cub, Vol. 43 No. 1, January 2023

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Photo Feature

Catch me if you can
Imagine you are a predator, a lizard or a bird in the Western Ghats, chasing a juicy, flashing blue butterfly when, like magic, it disappears from plain sight! This blue oakleaf butterfly Kallima horsfieldii achieved its miraculous escape by descending onto a dry creeper, folding its wings and hiding its brilliantly-coloured dorsal side to display only the underside of its oakleaf-patterned hindwings. Voila! It now perfectly resembles a leaf, complete with midrib and ‘fake’ fungal patches, to blend in with the tree. Photo: Gaurav Sharma.