Rare butterfly spotted for 1st time in over a century at Toronto's High Park

A rare butterfly species — the zebra swallowtail — has been spotted in Toronto's High Park for the first time in over a century.

The rare butterfly was spotted by Crystal Byrne, a butterfly enthusiast, when she was visiting High Park to catch a glimpse of the different species that appear at this time of the year.

"This stunning black and white butterfly came out. And I was like, that's a zebra swallowtail," said Byrne. "Never did I think that I was going to see one there."

The species was last spotted back in 1896, Bob Yukich, a member of the Toronto Entomologists' Association told CBC Radio's Wednesday.

'Like a little gift'

Byrne, who spent days maintaining the black oak savannah — an endangered ecosystem in High Park — felt "very lucky" to be the one to spot the rare zebra swallowt