Death and life: December 2010

Fewer insects around now winter has set in but still plenty of moths and butterflies, including my first sighting of Papilio demolion, a beautiful and uncommon species. The most striking thing I came across, however, was a tragic sight: the body of a Fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus) presumably shot by a farmer. Larger than the more common Leopard cat, it was just over a metre in length. What a sad end for a superb animal. I was first drawn by the sound of many flies and, as you can see in the picture, they were soon joined by some butterflies. I cannot understand how it is possible to kill something as rare and as beautiful.

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