Astana – The Almaty zoo celebrates this Wednesday the 40th birthday of the Cuban crocodile Fidel, namesake of the leader of the Cuban revolution, the press service of the Mayor’s Office of that Kazakh city reported this Wednesday.
“Today the Almaty Zoo celebrates a special event, the Cuban crocodile Fidel celebrates his 40th birthday,” indicated the administration of the former capital of Kazakhstan.
According to authorities, Fidel was born in 1986 and arrived in Almaty in 2001, from the zoo in Riga, the capital of Latvia.
For this celebration, zoo employees made a cake with the reptile’s favorite food, beef.
The Mayor’s Office pointed out that Fidel enjoys good health, is quite active and is under constant observation by veterinarians and zoo employees.
Cuban crocodiles (crocodylus rhombifer), which live in fresh water, usually live for several decades.
At the Almaty Zoo Fidel is fed once a week, since these animals have very slow digestion.
Feeding of this predator, considered one of the most intelligent species of its type due to its ability to recognize some commands and hand signals, usually occurs on Tuesday afternoons, a process that has become one of the tourist attractions of this zoo.