Cuban Crocodile

The Cuban crocodile is a small to medium-sized crocodile endemic to Cuba, found today only in the Zapata Swamp. Typical adults are 2.1 to 2.3 m long, and large males can reach 3.5 m. Long and strong legged, it is the most terrestrial of living crocodiles, with reduced webbing between the toes of the hind feet and none on the front feet. It favours freshwater and brackish habitats such as swamps, marshes and mangroves. Young animals eat invertebrates and small fish, while adults take fish, turtles and small mammals, using blunt rear teeth to crush turtle shells. Mating occurs between May and July.

About the Cuban crocodile

The Cuban crocodile is a small to mid-sized crocodile found only in Cuba, where it survives mainly in the Zapata Swamp. A member of the genus Crocodylus, related to the American crocodile, it is the most land-adapted of all living crocodiles, with long, strong legs, and it is critically endangered.

Its scientific name is Crocodylus rhombifer. Biologists consider it the most physically and behaviorally distinct member of its genus. It has brighter adult colors than other crocodiles, rougher, more "pebbled" scales, and long, powerful legs, and it is the most heavily armored living member of Crocodylus.

Typical adults measure 2.1 to 2.73 m (6 ft 11 in to 8 ft 11 in) and weigh 70 to 120 kg (150 to 260 lb). Males are larger than females, and big males can reach 3.5 m (11 ft) and 215 kg (474 lb) or more. Individuals of 5 m (16 ft) were found in the past but were rare. Even a crocodile of around 2 m (6 ft 7 in) bites hard: three animals measuring 1.87 to 2.46 m had bite forces of 1,392 to 3,127 newtons (313 to 703 pounds-force).

The head is short and broad, with a bony ridge behind the eyes, and large plates from the armored back extend onto the neck. The upper body is dark with a pattern of black and yellow speckles, the belly is pale and unmarked, and the tail carries black blotches or bands. The leg scales are unusually large and strongly keeled on the hind legs. It has 66 to 68 large teeth, and the blunt teeth at the back of the jaw are built for crushing turtle shells.

Behavior and diet

The Cuban crocodile is the most terrestrial crocodile alive. Its hind feet have reduced webbing and its front feet have none, which helps it move with power and agility on land. It can run at about 24 to 35 km/h (15 to 22 mph) with a gait similar to a gallop. It is also a strong swimmer, at home in water and on land.

Diet changes with age. Young crocodiles eat small fish, arthropods, and crustaceans. Adults feed mostly on fish, turtles, and small mammals, cracking turtle shells with their blunt rear teeth. Like the American alligator, it can launch itself out of the water with a thrust of its tail to snatch small animals from overhanging branches.

The species shows some unusual social behavior. A group of Cuban crocodiles has shown what is strongly suspected to be pack hunting, and the animals generally cooperate when hunting or feeding while keeping a dominance order based on sex, size, and temperament. Pack hunting may explain how the species once preyed on large prehistoric animals that shared its islands, such as giant Caribbean sloths and giant West Indian tortoises. Captive Cuban crocodiles have even been taught tricks, a sign of unusual intelligence for a crocodilian.

Like other reptiles, it cannot make its own body heat. It basks in the sun or in warm water, especially in the morning when it is cold and sluggish, or after a meal, when warmth speeds up digestion.

It is often described as the most aggressive crocodile in the Americas, and it dominates the much larger American crocodile where the two meet. Attacks on people are rare, likely because its range is so small and isolated. Only one fatal attack is known, in 1995, when a man spearfishing in the Zapata Swamp was killed.

Mating takes place from May to July, linked to changes in rainfall and temperature. In the wild, females dig trenches in wet marshes and cover the eggs with plant material; in captivity they build mounds. A clutch usually holds 30 to 40 eggs, up to 60 in larger females, each about 5 to 7.6 cm (2 to 3 in) long. Eggs hatch after 58 to 70 days, usually in late August or early September. Nest temperature sets the sex of the young: males develop at 30 to 32 °C (86 to 90 °F), and females at temperatures above or below that range. As many as 99% of hatchlings may die, taken by mammals such as raccoons, by birds and reptiles, by people, and even by older Cuban crocodiles.

Range and habitat

The Cuban crocodile has the smallest range of any crocodile. Today it lives only in Cuba, in the Zapata Swamp in the northwest and in the Lanier Swamp on Isla de la Juventud. Fossils show it was once spread more widely across the Caribbean, with remains found in the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and Hispaniola.

It favors fresh water: swamps, marshes, lakes, ponds, and rivers. It rarely swims in saltwater, which separates it from the American crocodile that shares parts of its range.

Cuban crocodile vs American crocodile

These two crocodiles overlap in Cuba, and they interbreed, which has become a serious conservation problem. They differ in size, build, and habitat.

Despite its smaller size, the Cuban crocodile is behaviorally dominant over the American crocodile where they live together.

Conservation status

The Cuban crocodile is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, based on a 2022 assessment, and is on CITES Appendix I. Its tiny range makes it highly vulnerable, and people hunted it nearly to extinction for its skin and meat. Habitat loss has added to the pressure, and in the Lanier Swamp it competes with caimans for food and space. An older estimate put the wild population at 3,000 to 6,000 animals.

Hybridization is now a major threat. Genetic testing found that 49.1% of wild Cuban crocodiles and 16.1% of captive ones are hybrids with the more abundant American crocodile, eroding the species' unique traits. Captive breeding projects in Europe, the United States, and India aim to support recovery, and the species is well represented in captivity in the United States, where it is studied and bred to help avoid its extinction. The world's largest breeding farm for the species is in the Zapata Swamp.