Cuba is a world leader in sustainable organic farming, and as I am interested in all types of farming, I wanted to see for myself how farmers were managing to thrive in Cuba. The trip was organized by Wendy Holm who had connections with ANAP and co-operatives in Cuba. Because of elections, there was some misunderstanding about Wendy's tour; so the crocodile preserve farm was a substitute.
One difference between a crocodile, which is thinner, and an alligator is the size of their snouts. You can't see an alligator's teeth when its mouth is closed; its lower teeth fit snugly into pits in the upper jaw. In contrast, a crocodile's lower teeth are always visible. Alligators tend to be grayish black in colour whereas crocodiles have a light tan appearance. A crocodile has no strength in opening its mouth of 68 teeth, but can close it with 4,000 pounds of pressure.
The farm is growing crocodiles for preservation, and some of the species that could go extinct. They have saved 16 of 23 species. Currently they have 930 crocodiles. Since 1985, crocodiles are protected; previously they were killed by poachers and hunters. Today, if you are caught poaching, the fine starts at $5,000, depending on the size of the crocodile.
Cubans eat the Cuban crocodiles, but not the American crocodiles.
They grow 25 centimetres a year.
The farm has 30 breeders, which are crocodiles 10 to 14 years old. They put in five females for every male. They lay eggs within three days of making a trail or nest. The farmers have 24 hours to take the eggs. Sometimes at least four men are required to recover the baseball-sized eggs, including one to distract or attack as the females are very protective.
The farm incubates the eggs 90 days. The sex is determined by the temperature of eggs.
Thirty-year-old crocodiles are released when they are about seven meters long. Crocodiles keep growing until they die and can live to be 100 years old.
They feed the crocs horse meat - three kilograms per crocodile per week.
Other Cuban points of interest included a mangrove swamp and an African religious ceremony.
The mangrove swamps are known for trees surviving in salt water. The trees clean the water for other habitat.
The 19-kilometre causeway was completed in 1990. As it really changed the ecology - causing environmental damage with snails, mosquitos, etc., affected - they realized a need for more bridges. The difference between high tide and low tide is 40 centimetres.
We saw flamingos on our way home.
We were treated to an African religious ceremony. The name sounded like Palme chi. The ceremony was of a religion of several gods mixed with Christianity, to ward off evil spirits. Divination also tends to play a major role in the process of transmuting negative or confused feelings or thoughts into more ordered and productive ones.
