Mangled Morpho

Walking through the Mall Of America yesterday, I discovered that they have an area called Butterfly Bay, a sort of butterfly petting zoo for kids. I spent about a half hour in there after work and got a few decent shots, but it was really sad to see the poor shape that so many of these butterflies were in. I guess it's to be expected, given that every kid who goes in there wants to pick up a butterfly on their finger, but there were some dead ones lying around, and even in the short time that I was there, one landed on the ground and was stepped on. It made me wonder how many butterflies a place like this goes through over time. It's that old paradox- on the one hand, I feel it's wrong to keep any living creature caged up (I have an especially soft spot for winged creatures- I could never keep a bird in a cage), but on the other hand, for these kids, and I guess even myself, it might be their only chance to experience these beautiful creatures, some of which are quite exotic. Here's a picture of blue morpho who's seen better days.