San Diego Zoo Safari Park Aflutter with Prep for Butterfly Jungle

  Hundreds of plants full of succulent nectar are arriving in the Hidden Jungle aviary at the same time that hundreds of pupae are emerging into gorgeous butterflies in the San Diego Zoo Safari Park hatching room. This week, the Park is aflutter with preparations for one of the biggest events of the year: Butterfly Jungle, which opens Saturday, March 24, and runs through Sunday, April 15, 2012.

     Once a year, guests at the Safari Park are enchanted and spellbound as thousands of butterflies flitter around them in the walk-through aviary. But all that magic doesn't happen without a lot of work. Eight months ago, the Safari Park staff began growing some of the plants that will sustain these fragile creatures.  Hundreds of the 30 species of butterflies that will inhabit Hidden Jungle are emerging each day.

     The Park's horticulture staff replaces 200 to 300 plants of a dozen varieties each week of the event to make sure the flowers are fresh and full of nectar for the butterflies. The plants need to be in the peak of their bloom before going into Butterfly Jungle, and the skill of choosing the plants at the perfect time has been handed down from horticulturist to horticulturist for years.

     "The plants provide a wonderful nectar source for the butterflies that sustains their lives," said Cary Sharp, the Safari Park's curator of horticulture.

     Butterfly Jungle is included with admission to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.