The Cuban Green Woodpecker
We had the privilege of a lecture from Frank Medina, director of the Zapata Park. This 5000 square kilometer Park is the most important wetland of Cuba. It is recognized by UNESCO as a bio-reserve.
Cuba is 1200 Kilometers long and in it you will find 290 natural beaches, 4095 different keys, 4 mountain ranges, 103 protected areas and 45 nature parks. Almost 20% of Cuba’s land is protected.
Within Zapata Park live 9000 people. There are 3 biological stations that monitor fish, crocodiles, mangroves and marshes.
There are 366 species of birds in Cuba and 258 of them live in the park. The Zapata Wren, last reported in 1998 was again sighted on the 12th of November 2014, encouraging to the work the conservationists are trying to do.
There are 12 mammals in the park, 100 species of spiders, 16 species of fresh water fish and 13 amphibian species, mainly frogs.
The crocodile is the one species that is receiving the heaviest care. The Cuban Crocodile is on the endangered species list and can only survive in a 300 square kilometer portion of the Zapata Swamp.
There are three crocodile farms built with the intent of breeding the crocodiles and repopulating the area. The crocodile is the umbrella species in the area and vital to its ecosystem.
Even so, there is also the American crocodile on the island, and although they prefer brackish water to the fresher water of the Cuban Crocodile, there has now been at least one sighting of interbreeding.
The park also has a few human problems to deal with, hunting of the crocodiles for the hide, illegal since 1960s, fishing of the Gar Fish, and catching of the Cuban Parrot for domestication.
Other problems are Forest Fires, primarily in the dry season of November to April. Invasive species; the Melaluca bush that is so prolific it is easy to spot everywhere. The Lionfish is one they are keeping an eye on and then there is the catfish, grown for food on the island, but a 1998 tropical storm caused the rivers to run so high they escaped their northern farms and got into the local waters. And then, of course, climate change affecting everything from the loss of shoreline to salinity in the marsh area.
Our afternoon began at a crocodile farm at Boca de Guama. This was a sickening tourist trap that even sells stuffed crocodiles. Hard to understand how working this hard to protect a species is coupled with the blatant selling of its parts. At the park one walks around a small area gazing at crocodiles while passing by several stores and one large restaurant and bar.
A twenty-minute boat ride puts you at the center of this Guama Tourist Center and a replica of a Taino village. As you walk along raised wood walkways and over 5 bridges, you pass 25 sculptures by Cuban sculptor Rita Longa. Lunch was crocodile, chicken or squid. We did find it interesting that after a lecture of the success of catching catfish as the most viable eradication process, the catfish in the water, just over the railing of the restaurant, wasn’t on the menu. All and all the food was very good even if the setting left a lot to be desired due to its overly ridiculous tourist hype.
Rita Longa was one of Cubas finest contemporary sculptors, these are not representative of her finest work
Itinerary:
Early morning birding with Frank Medina
Depart for visit to Korimakao Project for interaction with artists, musicians and dancers (see Art in Cuba)
Depart for Boca de Guama
Visit the Crocodile Farm
Enjoy a short boat ride to our restaurant for lunch
Depart for Pinar del Rio
Dinner at our hotel
Overnight Hotel Villa Soroa
Why do I never remember to take pictures of my room until the morning we leave?
