Kid Territory: Critters: Magnificent Manja
When his eyes get cloudy like this, we know Manja is about to shed his old skin and look better than ever!
Madagascar ground boas have beautifully patterned skin that gives them great camouflage in the leaf litter of their rain forest home.
Zoo educators enjoy showing off Manja to visitors and school groups.
Zoo name: Manja
Species: Madagascar ground boa
Location: San Diego Zoo's Education Department
His story
When a program needs a large, easily seen reptile at the San Diego Zoo, Manja is the man! He's a Madagascar ground boa used as an education animal, one of the Zoo's many animal ambassadors that visit schools, hospitals, nursing homes, television studios, and classes and parties at the Zoo. He's a large, handsome snake, dark brown on his back and lighter brown on his underside, which helps him camouflage in the leaf litter; he prefers being on the ground and is not at home in the trees.
A long journey
Manja hatched in September 1996 at the Fort Worth Zoo in Texas. He came to the San Diego Zoo two months later and lived in our Reptile House for many years. In January 2004, he made his big move to the Education Department. Like most of the Zoo's reptiles, he had not been given a name. (We have so many snakes, lizards, turtles, and tortoises that it would be impossible to keep track of their identification numbers AND their names!) One of our educators suggested calling him Manja, the name of a city in the part of Madagasgar where these ground boas are found. It was a good choice; it sounds like the Italian word mangia, which means "eat," and Manja does indeed have a hearty appetite! He's nearly 20 pounds (9 kilograms) and over 6 feet (1.8 meters) long and so strong that he's usually brought out by two people to greet our visitors.
Super special
Manja is special for many reasons: he's only one of 32 Madagascar ground boas living in the United States and the only one we know of that works as an education snake! It's not often that people get to meet such a big snake and learn about him first hand, so in addition to being an educator he's an ambassador for all snakes, helping teach people about the snake's important place in the web of life.
Where you can see him
Manja lives in the Education Department's office. But you may see him in the company of two of our educators meeting visitors during parties, Zoo camp groups, classes, and sleepovers.
More
Animal Bytes: Boa, Snake
Meet the Critters: Big Tex, Nyoka the Ball Python
Education programs
San Diego Zoo: Reptile House
