THERE’S a snappy new addition at Stratford Butterfly Farm.
A caiman has taken up residence at the tourist attraction on Swan’s Nest Lane as part of the new Rainforest Realm exhibition.
The male caiman would normally live in and around ‘cenotes’ – natural sinkholes formed by the collapse of limestone that fill up with ground water. Caimans are opportunist hunters, feeding on a variety of prey including crabs, fish, small mammals and invertebrates.
Alongside the caiman are other animals originating from the rainforests of Central America.
These include an emerald tree boa snake, ten endangered orange blackfoot dart frogs, a basilisk lizard, two baby yellow spotted amazon river turtles and a oustalets chameleon from Madagascar.
And at the heart of the exhibition is a replicated ‘cenote’ habitat, complete with a water cascade and a deep and shallow pool.
Marketing manager Jane Kendrick said: “At present no other attraction in the UK or Europe are housing their reptiles in a cenote so this is a one-of-a-kind display. The project has taken 14 months to complete and will enable our visitors to see this beautiful predator in a fun and safe environment.”
