Inside the fight to save the Cuban crocodile from extinction

An endemic species that is threatened by hunters and genetic deviation has forced scientists to step in

A biologist poses with newly-hatched Cuban crocodiles as they are relocated at a hatchery in Cienaga de Zapata, Cuba (Reuters)

Shirtless and waist-deep in the dark waters of Cuba’s palm-speckled Zapata Swamp, researcher Etiam Perez releases a baby crocodile confiscated from illegal hunters back into the wild.

It is a small victory, he says, in a bigger battle. Cuban crocodiles, an endemic species found only here and in a swamp on Cuba’s Isle of Youth, are critically endangered and have the smallest natural habitat left of any living crocodile species, scientists say.

“We are trying to bring them back from the edge of extinction,” Perez says as the spotted reptile, mouth full of fine teeth, kicked its striped tail and disappeared.

A newly-hatched Cuban crocodile emerges onto a biologist’s hand at a hatchery in Zapata swamp (Reuters)

Cuban crocodiles swim at the Zapata hatchery (Reuters)

Illegal hunting and hybridisation with American crocodiles – which muddles the species’ genetics – have for decades threatened populations here. A warming climate, which alters the sex ratio of newborn crocs, poses a new threat.

And despite the fact that the Cuban government has protected virtually all of the vast swamp – widely considered to be the best preserved in the Caribbean – that may still not be enough, scientists say.

“When you compare the Cuban crocodile with other species in the world, its house is very small,” says Gustavo Sosa, a Cuban veterinarian at Zapata.

A Cuban crocodile swims with fishes after being released into the wild in Zapata swamp (Reuters)

Cuban crocodiles scramble for bait at the Zapata Swamp hatchery (Reuters)

Cuban scientists estimate that around 4,000 Cuban crocodiles live in the wild. But because the area they prefer within the wetland is relatively small, a climate-related disaster – increasingly common now globally – could wipe out most of the population.

Those concerns decades ago prompted the Cuban government to underwrite a hatchery program that annually releases several hundred crocodiles into the wild. Researchers like Perez also liberate crocodiles confiscated from hunters as part of a program that has helped reduce poaching of the species.

A crocodile taxidermy in a restaurant at Zapata swamp (Reuters)

Cuban crocodile meat is prepared in a restaurant at Zapata swamp (Reuters)

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which listed the species as critically endangered in 2008, says its assessment and population estimates need updating, but confirms long-standing concerns over the limited habitat of the species.

“With the hatchery we are trying to increase the historical range of the Cuban crocodile and of course increase the number of these individuals in the wild,” Perez says.

A Cuban crocodile swims after being released into nature in Zapata swamp (Reuters)

Veterinary technician Enrique Vasallo releases newborn Cuban crocodiles into their cage at the Zapata hatchery (Reuters)

The sale of crocodile meat in Cuba is tightly controlled by the state, and only those crocodiles with physical defects or hybrid genetics, for example, are allowed in restaurants. An illegal market, however, can still be found in some areas, particularly around the swamp.

Fuel shortages, antiquated equipment and often inhospitable conditions are constant challenges in Cuba, a Caribbean island nation gripped by a dire economic crisis.

A Cuban crocodile hatches at Zapata swamp (Reuters)

Veterinarian Gustavo Sosa washes newly-hatched Cuban crocodiles in the Zapata hatchery (Reuters)

But at Zapata, those concerns feel distant as this year’s crop of freshly hatched crocs, still covered in mucus from their eggs, snap their jaws at pieces of fresh river fish, moving in unison as they discover their new world.

The newborns quickly become fierce and intimidating predators, scientists say, capable of reaching lengths of nearly five meters as adults. The Cuban crocodile, says veterinarian Sosa, is especially pugnacious, with little fear of humans.

“It is a very curious critter,” says Sosa. “When you see one in nature ... you know it is a Cuban crocodile because they come to you.”

Photography by Alexandre Meneghini

Reuters