Sitting nicely on the picnic blanket, Jimmy took a deep breath and blew out all the candles on his bulldozer birthday cake.
Lost in the moment, he didn’t see an alligator creep up the riverbank, seize the paper plate of coloured popcorn and slither back into the water.
Another alligator closed its jaws around Spiffy, the family spaniel. In two great snaps, Spiffy’s pleading cries were silenced.
Other alligators fixed their unblinking eyes on the children. In absolute panic, they fled in every direction.
More of the merciless reptiles emerged from the reeds, snapping at the legs that rushed past them.
One girl was pulled down from a tree as she tried to scramble to safety.
As little Jimmy watched his presents being trampled and his friends being stuffed into hollow logs to eat later, he realised that this was the worst birthday party ever.
You’ll have a much better day out with New Zealand’s wildlife. Enjoy Wellington Zoo’s new walk-through precinct: Meet the Locals, He Tuku Aroha.