Tuesday 14th March 2023 was a day of great excitement at Stratford-upon-Avon Butterfly Farm, as it was the day Kenny the Spectacled Caiman arrived at his new home within Rainforest Realm.

Kenny quickly settled into his new home, a bespoke designed replicated  'cenote'. Within minutes of his release he was swimming in the deep water.

For the first two weeks after his arrival, the picture window of Kenny's cenote was covered up so that he could acclimatise to his new environment and become used to the sounds of people walking past. The visiting public during that time period had no idea they were walking past a magnificent spectacled caiman!

One year on Kenny is thriving and has gained weight and muscle, weighing in at 10.9kg having gained 2kg since last July. Kenny is approximately 1.3m but could grow to up to 2m. Although aged only 11 years, he could live up to 50 years so will hopefully be a long-term resident at the Butterfly Farm.

Kenny currently shares his cenote with two species of fish - Silver Mollys and Firemouth Cichlids, however they are safe from his jaws as they are too quick and small thankfully!

Kenny is fed whole prey animals as well as locusts and freshwater fish. He has recently enjoyed an underwater tug of war with his keeper and is now ready to start clicker and target training.

This will enable him to voluntarily enter his off-show area for weighing, basic husbandry, and any medical procedures, as well as enabling his keepers to tidy up the cenote and carry out water checks safely.