Butterflies from Philippines to debut at Gaziantep Zoo


Gaziantep Zoo, the biggest in Turkey, is set to have its own butterfly house dedicated to tropical butterflies.

"The Tropical Butterflies Center" at the zoo will be the first of its kind in Turkey. It will host some 20,000 butterflies from the Philippines.

The butterflies will be kept in a climate-controlled environment, with the temperature set at 25 degrees Celsius and the humidity at 90 percent. The center will also be home to nearly 500 different plants species.

Celal Özsöyler, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality's head of Wild Life Protection, said the butterfly center will have 120 different species when it opens at the end of 2018.

"The center will be the first of its kind in Turkey. Here visitors will be able to closely examine the butterflies," said Özsöyler.

He added that an estimated 4.5 million visitors will visit the center over the next year.