Shirtless and waist-deep in the dark waters of Cuba's palm-speckled Zapata Swamp, researcher Etiam Perez releases a baby crocodile confiscated from illegal hunters back into the wild.
It is a small victory, he says, in a bigger battle. Cuban crocs, an endemic species found only here and in a swamp on Cuba's Isle of Youth, are critically endangered and have the smallest natural habitat left of any living crocodile species, scientists say.
"When you compare the Cuban crocodile with other species in the world, its house is very small," said Gustavo Sosa, a Cuban veterinarian at Zapata. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which listed the species as critically endangered in 2008, says its assessment and population estimates need updating, but confirms long-standing concerns over the limited habitat of the species.
Fuel shortages, antiquated equipment and often inhospitable conditions are constant challenges in Cuba, a Caribbean island nation gripped by a dire economic crisis.
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