GALLERY: Annie the Anaconda turns 32
FOURWAYS – The oldest green anaconda in Africa celebrates her 32nd birthday.
Monte Casino Bird Garden’s green anaconda – Annie – celebrated her 32nd birthday on 31 July. The event was attended by media, guests and Glenn Joseph, general manager of Monte Casino.
Joseph gave an overview of the Bird Gardens – “It opened 14 years ago and now it has become its own attraction that has evolved into an educational and breeding facility.” He added that the Bird Gardens was recently awarded a certificate of compliance for the international standards maintained in the gardens by the Pan-African Association of Zoos and Aquaria (PAAZAB) for 2014/2015.
Guests were then treated to a brief preview of the bird show before a few words were said by Annie’s curator, Chris Cooke. He told the crowd how easy Annie was to handle and that they never had a problem when moving her, feeding her or cleaning her enclosure – despite being over 4.5-metres long and around 40kg.
As Annie is a tropical snake, she could only be brought out for a short period of time. Heating lamps were set up for her comfort and she patiently allowed photographers to snap away. She is the oldest female green anaconda in captivity, as well the oldest in Africa.
