Sanctuary calls attention to plight of butterflies

AS IT FACES UNCERTAIN FUTURE

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To many, butterflies are symbols of transformation, rebirth, and new beginnings. To some, they are as delicate as their beauty suggests. But for quite a few, they represent a legacy that lives within the family --an advocacy that has been passed on for many decades.

Cebu City may be a highly-urbanized area, but in a portion of Barangay Basak-Pardo lies the Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary and Art Gallery. It was founded by and now continues the legacy of the late Julian N. Jumalon, a renowned lepido-mosaic artist.

The sanctuary is surrounded by an open-roof garden, rich with what they call food plants for the butterflies. Inside, it is filled with thousands of preserved butterfly species, and in a separate room, it also features the works of Julian. It is a haven for butterflies that welcomes them in any season --and a rendezvous and home for their short-lived lives.

While it now caters to tourists and visitors, Professor Humaida Jumalon, Julian's daughter who took over the institution, said it began with a love for butterflies. It started in 1974, when her father catalogued butterflies all over Cebu "from end to end."

It was during that time that her father was able to log 192 species of butterflies. Humaida explained that this is quite a number for the whole island of Cebu, in comparison to Taiwan, which recorded only around 200 species, and England, which recorded fewer than 70.

At that time, Humaida concluded that Cebu Island had a rich butterfly fauna. Humaida's brother, Osman, who is also a professor at San Carlos University, was tasked to catalogue the same area 50 years later but found only 90 species.

"So, we lose more than a hundred butterflies in less than 50 years... ingon si papa, is the next 50 years ang mga children di na kita'g butterflies. No more butterflies, that's why we created this. Ginganlan namo'g sanctuary, kadangpanan sa mga butterflies," said Humaida.