TIRANA, October 5/ATA/ Local and foreign visitors to Divjakë-Karavasta National Park do not leave without visiting the rare collection of butterflies and other species exhibited at the Natural History Museum.

In this unique museum for our country, the visitors can have a taste of the magical world of butterflies, insects, mollusks and some rare species that live in Divjakë-Karavasta.

Administrator of Divjakë-Karavasta tourist guide as well as the creator of this museum Altin Hila told ATA that, "From January to the end of September this museum was visited by about 6700 visitors, such as students, local and foreign tourists. The collection is getting increased more and more with new and rare species".

According to him, there is a growing interest of foreign biologists passionate about nature in the museum.

“Every year, in addition to visits to the Divjakë-Karavasta park, biologists from different countries also come to the museum. They are interested in learning more about the species I have in my collection,” said Hila.

Hila added that Divjakë-Karavasta is the park with the largest number of species in the country.

“In my collection, there are about 520 butterflies, moths and dragonflies which are only species from Divjakë-Karavasta. This park contains about 80% of the national species,” said Hila.

One of the problems that Hila encounters in his daily work is the extinction of species.

Hila said that, “In the time we are living in, we are in a critical, alarming situation of species extinction. Today, unfortunately, 5-6 species of butterflies circulate in nature out of 125 such species that I have in my collection. This is an alarm bell.”

Hila also said that this museum should be located in a larger space, stating that he has already presented a request to local and central authorities for this.

90% of national species live in Divjakë-Karavasta. Among the species exhibited in the museum is the African monarch butterfly (Danaus Crispus), which migrates from Africa and comes to Divjakë, becoming an attraction and symbol for the area, just like the pelican or flamingos.

Divjakë-Karavasta National Park is a protected area consisting of complex ecosystems, very rich in biodiversity and natural resources.

This area is home to the highest concentration of waterfowl, about 51,000 individuals and about 500 nesting pairs in Albania. While 89 different species representing the groups of mollusks, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, present in the park area, are considered at risk of extinction. /k.s/r.e/p.s./