Conservation of Cuban Crocodiles | WCS

Experts from WCS and WCS’s Bronx Zoo assisted Cuban conservationists in the recent release of 19 Cuban crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer) into Cuba’s Zapata Swamp as part of an ongoing recovery strategy for this Critically Endangered species.
The crocodiles came from a breeding facility near the Zapata swamp and were declared to be genetically pure. Hybridization with American crocodiles, which occur in the same area, is an ongoing issue and has contributed to the Cuban crocodile’s continuing decline. an increase in illegal hunting in recent years is another emerging threat.
The crocodiles were released in the Wildlife Refuge Channels of Hanabana (Refugio de Fauna Canales de Hanábana) – a 570 hectare (1,400 acre) mosaic of water channels, lagoons, marsh grasslands, and swamp forests in the easternmost Zapata Peninsula where Cuban crocodiles historically occurred. Marsh grasslands in this refuge provide crucial habitat for not only Cuban crocodiles, but prey items including bird, fish and mammal species. No American crocodiles or hybrids are found in this Wildlife Refuge.
The recent release, which took place on June 8th, is the second reintroduction since Cuba started to release Cuban crocodiles in this area in 2016. The release was the culmination of a workshop of crocodile experts organized by WCS and Cuban institutions, including the Fundación Antonio Nuñez Jiménez, CITMA Ciénaga de Zapata, and Empresa Nacional para la Protección de la Flora y la Fauna. This is the fifth workshop since WCS began working on Cuban crocodiles in the late 1990s. The workshop brought together 40 Cuban nationals working for the conservation of crocodiles in Cuba, and 30 international experts.
By the conclusion of the workshop, the group had formulated a series of priorities for improving the conservation of crocodiles. This includes: strengthening the research and monitoring of Cuban crocodiles in the wild; increasing efforts to reintroduce and monitor reintroduced animals in Channels of Hanabana; working with local communities to reduce poaching through alternative livelihoods and environmental education; and working with local authorities to strengthen compliance to reduce selling of crocodile meat.
Said Natalia Rossi, WCS Cuba Program Manager: “This workshop was important because it enabled the second release of Cuban crocodiles into the wild and motivated all participants to do even more to save this critically endangered species. Our workshop was fundamental to bring everyone together to share the work being done to save the Cuban crocodile.”
The critically endangered Cuban crocodile has the smallest, most restricted geographic distribution among all living species of the order Crocodylia being only found in parts of the Zapata and Lanier swamps. Historically it was found throughout the Zapata Peninsula but indiscriminate hunting for skins in the second half of the 19th century until the early 1960s decimated most populations Today, Cuban crocodiles inhabit a territory of about 77,600 hectares (191,700 acres) in the Southwestern tip of the Zapata Peninsula, with populations aggregating mainly in a core area of 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) sharing habitat with the American crocodile and the hybrids of both species.
WCS’s Bronx Zoo was the first U.S. zoo to successfully breed Cuban crocodiles. The first one hatched in 1983; six more hatched in 1984, and 21 in 1985. There has been no reproduction since then, but the zoo has a new young pair of crocodiles that will be introduced to each other later this year.