This gorgeous snake is Rafiki, a ROYAL PYTHON from West and Central Africa. I chose this name because Rafiki is the Swahili word for 'friend', which seems entirely suitable for such a calm, friendly snake. Of course the most famous Rafiki is the mandrill from Walt Disney's The Lion King, who is a great friend to all the animals in the story!

Hatched in Sunderland way back on 19th September 1999, Rafiki is by far the oldest animal in my collection as well as being the longest-serving member of the Jungle Roadshow team! He is exceptionally popular with everyone he meets as he is fantastic in every way and is so calm and docile when being handled.

In the picture directly below you can clearly see a series of pink holes or 'pits' between the eye and the front of Rafiki's head. These are very special heat-sensing pits which all pythons have, which are used to literally detect the heat (or infrared thermal radiation) of their surroundings. If a rodent or other warm-blooded prey item comes close to them whilst they are hunting, a royal python can detect with incredible accuracy the warmest parts of the body at which to strike!