Cuban Crocodiles – Part 1

Rico and Havana would like to wish everyone a ‘Snappy New Year’!

Rico and Havana are our Cuban crocodiles and definitely have a bit of a wow-factor to them due to their size. Both appreciated and feared by guests, they are a big favourite in the reptile house, that’s for sure.

Our Cuban crocodiles have a safe home here at Wingham Wildlife Park, being looked after by people that love them, but wild Cuban crocodiles face several threats which could lead to their extinction.

In the wild, Cuban crocodiles are only found in 1 swamp in Cuba, the Zapata Swamp, meaning their distribution is extremely limited and one of the smallest of all crocodile species. This is one of the big reasons that they are classified as critically endangered.

Another factor contributing to them being critically endangered is their ability to hybridize with other crocodiles, more specifically, the American crocodile, Crocodylus acutus, due to overlapping breeding seasons. The introduction of the American crocodile was a result of habitat alterations caused by humans in the late 1800’s, destroying the ecological barrier previously separating the species. The American crocodiles that reside in the same areas as Cuban crocodiles are genetically distinct from the American crocodiles that live in Central America and genetic markers have shown that the hybridization between the 2 species could be ancient, but there is also evidence of more recent hybridization too.

Despite hunting of Cuban crocodiles being illegal since 1967, it still takes place. Cuban crocodiles are often the preferred crocodile that locals use for food. In the early 1900’s, Cuban crocodiles were also hunted for their skin for leather production and the decline in their population due to this has likely heavily contributed to the hybridization problem. Unfortunately, they are not well-protected and the species still struggles despite local conservation education programs.

Other threats caused by humans include issues such as water pollution, habitat transformation, construction of roads and the introduction of invasive species. It is likely that climate change and rising sea-levels will also affect the Cuban crocodile by transforming their freshwater swamps and marshes (a rare habitat) into brackish or salt-water marshes. Although the Cuban crocodile can tolerate brackish waters, it is an undesirable habitat for them.

Seeing the threats they face, it is easy to see why we would need to keep these guys in captivity. Their numbers are declining, and they have the added disadvantage of hybridizing with other crocodile species, putting them at a higher risk of becoming extinct in the future.

This means that Rico and Havana could play an important part in the conservation of their species.

You will find Rico and Havana in their enclosure inside the reptile house where you will often see them lounging on the land and soaking up some UV by the viewing windows or hanging out in the water with the fish.

But how do we know who’s who?

We need to be able to tell them apart to ensure we can keep an accurate record of their health, how much they eat and general personal habits. As we work with them every day, we are able to tell them apart from a few easily distinguishable features.

The easiest way to tell the difference between our crocodiles is by the shape of their eyes and the colour of their bodies. Once you can tell the difference , you’ll be able to find more of your own small differences between the two of them. They also have distinctive personalities.

Rico:

Rico is our male crocodile. To identify him you need to look for large circular eyes and lots of yellow colouration on his body, mostly on his sides.

Havana:

Havana is our female crocodile. She is actually a hybrid species, meaning she is a mix of 2 different species. To identify her you need to look for small eyes that sit a little flatter on her head and darker colouration on her body.

Havana is also smart; however, she can take a little bit of convincing to take part in a training session. She is also less likely to jump out of the water at keepers. Instead, she prefers to sit under the keeper walkway and tries to bite keepers’ feet as we walk over it. Havana is more destructive out of the two and has claimed several heat lamps and was the main instigator when breaking the pump system in their previous enclosure.

In the photo below you can see how Rico (top) has more yellow colouration than Havana (bottom), who is much darker.

In the photo below, you can see how Rico (right) looks to have larger eyes which protrude out of his head more, while Havana (left) has smaller eyes and almost looks as if she is squinting.

Top tips when figuring out who’s who:

Don’t rely on body shape or size – like people, crocodiles can change shape and become slimmer or larger over time, so we avoid identifying them using this. Both of our crocodiles are also very close in size so using their overall size and length to compare the two won’t work.

Wet or dry – comparing colouration when 1 crocodile is wet and when 1 crocodile is dry can make things tricky. Wait for both of them to be in the water, they’d have washed off any dirt and their colours will be the most obvious.

Sleepy crocodiles – crocodiles will close their eyes and snooze, therefore making it harder to tell who’s who as their eyes squish a little more into their head when they sleep.

Crocodile on the shelf?! – this is Rico! We have yet to see Havana show any interest in climbing up there, so if there is one on the shelf you can be pretty certain that it is Rico.

Rico on his shelf.