Crocodiles festively welcomed at AquaZoo!

More than a thousand annual pass holders celebrated the arrival of four Nile crocodiles at AquaZoo Friesland yesterday during a special evening opening. For the first time they could take a look at the exciting animals in their brand new enclosure, which was opened by Sjoerd Feitsma, alderman of the municipality of Leeuwarden and Jeroen Loomeijer, branch manager of AquaZoo.

Earlier this week, the four Nile crocodiles arrived at AquaZoo. The keepers have chosen the names Jamilia, Azizi, Rafiki, La Lajita for the crocodiles. In addition to four real crocodiles, there is also a fake crocodile in the spacious enclosure, which includes a large waterfall. Visitors can thus once feel the rough skin of a crocodile.

left: Jeroen Loomeijer (left) and Sjoerd Feitsma (right) opened the crocodile enclosure.
Photo at right: all attendees were treated to a crocodile pastry!

Foul souvenir store
Stichting Wildlife has added a "wrong souvenir store" to the enclosure, where visitors learn what not to buy on vacation. The four crocodiles at AquaZoo are also available for adoption through Stichting Wildlife. With the money from donors and adopters, Stichting Wildlife supports various conservation projects.

Party weekend!
This coming weekend there will be extra crocodile activities at AquaZoo to celebrate the opening of the new enclosure. For example, children can get their faces painted as crocodiles and there will be a large crocodile jumping pillow.
Nile crocodiles can advance smoothly both on land and in water. By moving their tails back and forth, they can reach up to 30 kilometers per hour in the water. But they also move fast on land, running up to 17 kilometers per hour! The Nile crocodile usually hunts alone. It sneaks up to its prey, which it then grabs at lightning speed and drowns in the water. It eats its prey on land, since it cannot swallow underwater.