The Cuban crocodile, a little too much courted by its American cousin - France 24

Cienaga de Zapata (Cuba) (AFP)

There can be downsides to being courted when you are an endangered species like the Cuban crocodile.

Subject to the ardor of its American cousin, the animal is threatened with hybridization.

But scientists are wondering whether we should not let nature take its course.

It is the day of the egg hunt, in the crocodile breeding park of the Ciénaga de Zapata nature reserve, in the south-central part of the Cuban island.

In each enclosure where the animals are in semi-freedom, a small group of employees, surrounded by clouds of mosquitoes, spot the mounds of earth where the female crocodiles have hidden their eggs.

The goal?

Carefully remove them to take them to an incubator, where their chances of survival are increased.

"Stealing" the eggs of a mother crocodile is not so simple: the one in charge of digging the mound is surrounded by five men, armed with sticks to repel the animals with sharp teeth, hidden under the tall grass or which may emerge from it. water at all times.

"You have to be very careful because the animals attack you", explains Gustavo Sauza, 42 years old, 23 of whom spent working in the park as a veterinarian.

Transported in cans, the eggs will spend 80 to 85 days in an incubator, before hatching.

- Symbol of Cuba -

Between 500 and 1,000 crocodile babies are born each year in the park, keeping the population around 4,500 and releasing a hundred a year into the wild, where they are estimated to be around 3,000.

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But in Ciénaga de Zapata, the only habitat of the Cuban crocodile, ventures a related species, the American crocodile, which has come from the coast of the island to reproduce with it.

In this marshy area, one in two is already a hybrid.

Yellow and black, the Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) is smaller, leggy, and known to be aggressive.

The American specimen (Crocodylus acutus), present in Central America, at the tip of Florida and in several Caribbean islands including Cuba, is more timid, darker in color.

The first only navigates in fresh water, the second goes quietly from sea to river.

Connoisseurs distinguish them at first glance, "of course!" Says Jorge Luis Monero, 56, who has worked at the park since 1987.

"In the Americas, there are no other crocodiles that look like the Cuban," he says, carrying in his arms a young animal of 4-5 years old, muzzled for safety.

About fifty centimeters long, "he has green eyes because he is small", then they will turn black.

"In the American crocodile that never changes, they will always be green", explains Jorge Luis, who recalls that the crocodile, "it is what symbolizes the island of Cuba" because its shape resembles the body of the animal.

- "Threatens" -

Hybridization is a "threat" as is poaching and the reduction of its natural habitat, underlines Etiam Pérez-Fleitas, 42, a specialist in exotic species in the park.

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At stake, the "loss of identity" of the Cuban species, classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), says the expert.

To remedy this, a genetic study in 2008 made it possible to exclude hybrid crocodiles from breeding in breeding.

"But it should be remembered that hybridization has also played a role in evolution, in the appearance of new species", notes Etiam: if the phenomenon is caused by man, then it must be slowed down.

If this marriage is the work of nature, maybe we just need to do nothing.

And the resulting hybrid could be a more resilient species, combining the aggressiveness of the Cuban model and the adaptability of the American.

“Our research is focused on finding evidence to confirm this is a natural hybridization” - in fossils that would show the mixture to be ancient - just accelerated by human activity like building canals across the island.

Scientists are moving cautiously to avoid any hasty decisions.

Faced with a beast that lives up to 70 years in captivity, it is better to have "very long-term plans", smiles Etiam.

For now, it is the Cuban crocodile that is being pampered, but "maybe in 100 years we will say that these are the hybrids that should be kept!"

© 2021 AFP