26/08/2025
A male guinea pig nicknamed “Randy” gained access to a female-only enclosure at Hatton Adventure World near Warwick, Warwickshire in June 2014.
Staff believe Randy either escaped his enclosure or was accidentally placed with females by a child visitor during a handling session. Randy remained undetected among the females for s several weeks until staff noticed his exhausted appearance and weight loss, prompting an investigation.
During his time in the female enclosure, Randy impregnated approximately 100 female guinea pigs. With guinea pigs typically producing litters of about four pups, the park anticipated a population increase of up to 400 offspring. By August 2014, around 100 babies had already been born with more expected in subsequent weeks.
Hatton Adventure World consequently expanded their guinea pig facilities to accommodate the population surge and implemented stricter protocols to ensure proper separation of males and females.
