-
- An adult Eleutherodactylus iberia, the smallest frog in the northern hemisphere, rests on a thumbnail. This tiny frog is found only in two regions of Cuba.
-
- The iconic tabletop mountain, El Yunque, stands behind Baracoa, a small city on the eastern tip of Cuba which was also the first Spanish settlement in the country.
-
- A group of flamingos feed near Cayo Coco, Cuba.
-
- Biologist Gonzalo Nodarse carefully pulls up buried green turtle eggs, which are at risk from poaching and polluted beaches, to be relocated to a hatchery. The smell of the sand from this beach will be marked on the baby turtles' shells, and surviving adult females will eventually return to this beach to lay their own eggs.
-
- The baby green turtles swimming at this breeding center in Cayo Largo, Cuba will eventually be released into the ocean.
-
- A beautiful coastal lagoon in Guanahacabibes, Cuba supports a relatively undisturbed marine habitat, including healthy coral reef populations. Increased development and pollution negatively impact many of the world's coral reefs.
-
- The bright yellow Polymita, or “painted snail” pictured here represents one member of the elusive snail population endemic to Cuba, which is known as the “Paradise of Snails.”
-
- Mogotes rise over the fertile red soil valleys of Viñales in the Pinar del Rio province of Western Cuba, which provides a rich habitat for Cuba’s most famous export, tobacco cigars.
-
- Emma Palacios Lemagne, a Cuban biologist, observes the evolutionary adaptations of snails on an eroded limestone wall.
-
- A group of Cuban crocodiles warm up on the shore in the Zapata swamps. Cuban crocs are among the fastest and most aggressive of their kind, best known for jumping out of the water to catch small mammals in overhanging trees.
-
- A tobacco farmer working the fertile fields of Viñales is shown with massive eroding limestone karsts, called mogotes, visible in the background.
8 Responses to “Photos: Cuba’s Natural Diversity”
Leave a Reply
Please note that the THIRTEEN editorial staff reserves the right to not post comments it deems to be inappropriate and/or malicious in nature, as well as edit comments for length, clarity and fairness. No solicitations or advertisements will be allowed. Users may link to other Web sites relevant to discussion, but most often links to commercial Web sites will not be permitted.
I like to help Emma Palacios Lemagna ,with her painted snails,and sent her same mony to help her.with the Polymita .i net her adres thank you Doris Hensley
because of the US blockcade we can’t help Cuba; it’s really sad.
These are so cool and pretty!!!!!!!!
there has to be a way to donate to this cause. i will research it….if anyone has any information please post it.
Thank You
i would like to help the guy with the turtle hatchery..sea turtles are so awsome i swam with one in hawaii and its a feeling i cant describe.
Please don’t blame the US for the communist regimes problems. It is not the US at fault but the dictatorship that leaves Cuba alone. I should know, I had to leave my country, Cuba, 40 years ago. I do thank PBS for accurately portraying the beauty of my country, that not even communism has destroyed. I can’t wait for the day Cuba is free and I, along with others, will be able to enjoy Cuba’s natural beauty.
I am still excited about this program on Cuba and telling my friends about it. The beauty of Cuba was exquisitely portrayed. I too would love to donate to the cause of perserving this pristine world. I found the remark that the constitution of the republic addresses conservation of the resources of the island’s flower and fauna. It’s hard to reconcile this beauty with the harshness of the dictatorship.
I left my beautiful Cuba in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift I was only 13 and my sister was 14, we have been living in the US for 30 years now and although I’m very grateful to my adopted country I still love and miss my Cuba , I will I carry it in my heart always and I love to see its beauty shown on tv for the world to see, it feels my heart with pride. Thank you PBS.