Page 92 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Cuba

90 ❯❯ Cuba Area by Area

Wildlife

Mangroves
1 (see p52). A successful breeding
program has brought the species
Growing at the boundary
of land and sea, mangroves form back from the edge of extinction.
a tangled web of interlocking roots
Parrots
that rise from the waters and provide 7
shelter for juvenile marine creatures. Cuba’s endemic parrot
Five species grow in Cuba along both (see p52) is easily recognized, with
Caribbean and Atlantic shores. its noisy mating calls, red cheeks,
white forehead, and blue wing-tips.
Whale Sharks
2 The dry tropical forests of the Isla
de la Juventud have the largest
Scuba divers often have close
encounters with whale sharks in parrot pop ulation in Cuba.
the warm waters of the Bahía de
Corrientes and off Punta Francés.
Turtles
3
Female marine turtles crawl
onto the shores of pristine Cuban
beaches to lay their eggs above the
high-water mark. A farm on Cayo
Largo specializes in breeding green
and hawksbill turtles.
Cuban amazon parrots
Bone-fish
4 Marlin
This silvery fish is well-
camouflaged against the sandy 8
MAP A4 • María la Gorda: (48)
bottoms of shallow lagoons and is 75 0118
notorious for the challenging fight it The fast-flowing Gulf Stream off
gives anglers. Cayo Largo is a prime the north coast of Pinar del Río is
site for bone-fishing. a veritable highway for marlin, which
give sport-fishers a tremendous
Spoonbills
5 fight. María la Gorda has a marina
and offers sport-fishing charters.
This handsome, rose-colored
wading bird has a spatulate bill
Iguanas
and is a member of the Ibis family. 9
It nests in among the mangroves Looking almost lifeless, these
and can be seen in the Refugio giant herbivorous lizards (see p52)
Ecológico Los Indios (see p88). crawl around the arid terrain of the
Península de Guanahacabibes (see
Crocodiles
6 p50) and the infertile Archi piélago
The swamplands of southern
de los Canarreos.
Isla de la Juventud harbor a large
Manatees
population of Cuban crocodiles 0
These endangered
marine mammals inhabit the
coastal lagoons off both north
and south shores and, although
rarely seen, are very common
off the Golfo de Guanahacabibes.
Manatees feed on sea bed grasses
and other vegetation.
Cuban crocodile
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