NORTH DEVON JOURNAL (Plymouth, UK) 28 December 06 Smuggled Crocodiles To Get New £1m Home At Zoo
Three crocodiles which were illegally imported into Britain are to be given a £1 million new home at Paignton Zoo.The Cuban crocodiles - the most aggressive species in the world - were seized by Customs when they were brought into the country.
They first came to Paignton in 1993 as the zoo holds the studbook for the species and was followed by others to get them all together.
One is said to have been in a sailor's cabin on board a ship, while another which weighed just 700 grams and was 55cm long is now 2.1 metres and weighs 50kg to 60kg after years on a diet of meat, fish, chicks and rats.
None of the crocs has been seen in public as it was originally planned for them to be displayed in a rainforest dome exhibit.
But as the zoo was unable to raise the estimated £10 million for the dream, it has been shelved.
The zoo has decided it is now time to put them on display and has been fundraising for an exhibit which it hopes to open in about 18 months.
The zoo's Mistletoe Balls have raised about £10,000 towards the estimated £1 million cost of the exhibit, which will have to be designed with special security measures in mind because of the crocs' aggressive behaviour.
The exhibit is still in the planning stages, but the zoo hopes to have it opened by Easter 2008.
The Cuban crocodile is one of the most threatened New World crocodilian species, with an estimated wild population of 3,000 to 6,000.
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