Endangered Alert: Cuban Crocodiles
Communist CrocCuba is pretty well known for a few things including Castro, cigars, rum, and the missile crisis, but not too many people are aware of Cuban crocodiles. And unfortunately, they may be extinct before most people realize they ever existed. The medium-sized crocs are usually found in freshwater marshes, bogs, and shrublands where they can feed on small mammals such as hutias, and freshwater turtles. They can also leap from the water and gobble up small animals on overhanging branches.
The Cuban Crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is on the IUCN’s critically endangered list as the animal’s population has decline by more than 80 per cent over the last three generations. They have been endangered since 1982. The crocodile is slowly vanishing due to habitat destruction, exploitation, and the effects of hybridization with native American crocodiles.
Since the 1990s more and more people have also been killing the species for food, which is usually sold to restaurants for tourists and the locals to dine on. It is also highly likely that the percentage of hybrids in the population has increased as recent genetic studies have shown that extensive hybridization is occurring in the wild. Conservation practices have been implemented, but haven’t helped much as hunting of the crocodiles still exists.
The animals average about seven to eight feet in length and have long, strong legs, with males being larger than females. They have a mouthful of 66 to 68 large teeth, which are ideal for crushing turtle shells. Their feet have reduced webbing, which enables them to move with agility and power when on land.
Because they are fine swimmers and good at walking and leaping, they feel at home in water an on land. There is a dominance hierarchy among these crocodiles that is based on their sex, size, and temperament. The Cuban crocodiles generally have a lifespan between 50 and 75 years.
They used to live in other parts of the Caribbean including the Bahamas, and Cayman Islands. However, this species now live in just two small areas with most of them in the Zapata Swamp, and the rest of them in the Lanier Swamp on the Isle of Youth. It’s unsure what the current crocodile population is in Cuba as the last estimate was made in 1996, but it is believed to be about 4,000.
They do reproduce, as female crocodiles and lay between 20 and 40 eggs each year. However, many of these eggs, which are only about two to three inches long, are never hatched because of predators such as various mammals, reptiles, and birds. It has also been found that some older Cuban crocodiles have eaten their young. The surviving eggs usually hatch 58 to 70 days after they are laid and the youngster’s sex is determined by the temperature of the nest.
Direct conservation programs are being used to help keep the crocodile population from shrinking further, including captive breeding, species reintroductions and protected areas.
However, to make sure the Cuban crocodiles don’t disappear forever, more work needs to be done, such as further research and monitoring of the population, taxonomy, and harvest levels.
However, to make sure the Cuban crocodiles don’t disappear forever, more work needs to be done, such as further research and monitoring of the population, taxonomy, and harvest levels.
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