We had the pleasure of interviewing John Withers, local Caiman Keeper and Minibeast Education Officer at Stratford Butterfly Farm (SBF) - for a special Reptile Files feature. Being with SBF for nine years, John got us ‘up to scale’ on all of the coolest facts about our Stratfordian mate, Kenny the Croc. Sharing some ‘snappy’ details on how SBFensure the environment is up to spec for their very own Spectacled Caiman, hear what John the Keeper had to say....
Ecology Expert of the Month - John Withers from Stratford Upon Avon Butterfly Farm
Starting his career as a volunteer, with the love of critters and creepy crawlies fuelling his aspirations to work with wildlife, John shares: “It’s just in you, right? As a child, being obsessed with dinosaurs - this is the thing, the nearest thing to dinosaurs would actually be birds. Then developing an interest in reptiles off the back of that - I really fell in love with reptiles.
“I was that kid making friends with woodlice in the playground, rather than socialising. Just the natural world in general, not only herpetology - I really enjoy what millions of years of evolution has thrown out.”
Taking the traditional route of pursuing wildlife studies at college, John shares: I wouldn’t class myself as an academic - it’s nice to demonstrate to those people who don’t necessarily shine in the classroom like I did, dedicate yourself to it anyway. Learn the ropes, start locally and volunteer where you can. Even if you’re not the most academically gifted, there’s still lots that you can offer to the industry. There’s lots of roles and I’ve managed to find my little pocket via this route.”
From creature conservation, to creating caiman cenotes
As a leading contributor to building the enclosure at SBF, also known as the ‘cenote’, John talks us through the thoughts behind Kenny’s crib. After reading this, I’m sure you can agree - a luxurious lifestyle with keepers at the snap of your finger (or hopefully not for John).
VIDEO: Watch our latest episode with John the Caiman Keeper
What is a Cenote?
If you’ve been calling it a keynote like I have (just me? …embarrassing ), it’s actually pronounced: ‘sen-oh-teh’. John tells us: “found in central America, Cenotes are geographical depressions, carved out by water underground caves and river systems. They hold beautiful, crystal clear freshwater - occasionally, you’ll find a caiman bobbing around there.”
John said: “I really love the creative process and technical side of creating the enclosure. One of my favourite things to do on the job is thinking about a new enclosure - designing it, making it, bringing life to it. It’s incredibly rewarding to see it paying off for Kenny. We were given a lot of autonomy and trust to make big decisions, which we really value within a lot of zoological collections. We did our research and looked at other organisations such as Whipsnade and Crocodiles of the World, to see what they were doing to have a strong starting point. It was challenging, but well worth it.”
Kenny’s private quarters
Off the beaten track, John and Kate kindly led us to the ‘behind the scenes’ of Kenny’s quarters, off the map to visitors (perks of running The Cool Animal Blog). For weighing and managing caiman care, the enclosure has an underwater drawbridge that leads into the ‘off-show area’ so that the keepers can manage reptile welfare (and to provide a treat to reward him for not being too snappy when having his weight recorded). Here, John locked me in the weighing cage - ready for the next feeding... Only having a laugh! We’re still here to tell the scaly tale!
The drawbridge leads to an area where Kenny moves onto the weighing scale in return for a warmed up dead mouse. John said: “We have a hands-off approach to avoid stressing Kenny out. Of course, we do have to hand Kenny in some circumstances for certain health checks, but mostly, we let him do his thing. The design process of the enclosure allows us to give Kenny his space and only handle him when absolutely necessary.”
The Croc-print
John said: “Creating that crystal clear water is important. It’s some serious filtration. He’s a messy creature, and a messy eater. We wanted to also recreate his pool to resemble the biotopes you’d find in his natural habitat. This included filling it with fish and living creatures to replicate the cenote.”
Of course, no fish were killed in the making of this cenote. Certain fish have been selected that Kenny wouldn’t eat.
“The enclosure was north of £200,000 - purely through the ticket sold without charitable donations. The funds we receive from our visitors goes back into keeping our enclosures up to spec.”
Enjoyed hearing about Kenny’s cenote?
We’ve actually got another blog, dedicated to covering the coolest facts about the Caiman, including Kenny’s characteristics and adaptive features. Don’t miss out on more caiman chronicles with John from SBF.
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