Informaciones Environment
In Cuba you can find wonders of nature. Cuban flora and fauna are characterized by their great diversity and high level of endemism. This is influenced by the insularity and the geological variety, with a notable presence of karst, serpentine, slate and savannah areas with quartzite sands.
There are more than 6000 species of plants, about half of which are endemic. The royal palm tree is represented on the country’s coat of arms; it is considered that there are 20 million palm trees in Cuba. The rest of the Cuban flora includes the rare and prehistoric cork palm; the jagüey; the pot-bellied palm; Ceiba; and the butterfly, a species of white jasmine, the national flower. Much of the southern coast has swampy mangroves that are home to various species of fish and birds, while the northern coastline is mostly made up of rugged coastlines.
In Cuba you can find blind fish that inhabit the crystalline waters of the underground lakes in karst caverns, in Pinar del Río; snails such as polymites and Liguus; the smallest frog on the planet, the smallest bird in the world; rare and beautiful orchids, and the extraordinary transparent-winged butterfly. The terrestrial fauna is mainly made up of reptiles (crocodiles, iguanas, lizards, salamanders, turtles and 15 species of non-poisonous snakes).
You can also see archaic mammals such as the almiquí, fossil fish such as the manjuarí, which lives in rivers and lagoons (more frequently in the Zapata Swamp), or plant fossils such as the Palma Corcho, dozens of beautiful and exotic species of orchids, marine mammals like the manatee; reptiles such as iguanas, hundreds of species of birds of great beauty for their plumage, or songbirds that enliven the fields and forests with their melodious sounds. The largest land mammal is the hutia. The smallest bird in the world, the zunzuncito, barely bigger than a grasshopper, also lives in Cuba. The national bird is the tocororo, whose red, white and blue plumage recalls the colors of the Cuban flag.
In Cuba there are also 8 protected areas with international recognition and with a very high ecological, landscape and cultural wealth.
Around 32,050 living organisms have been counted as part of the flora and fauna of Cuba, although an important part of them are lower organisms. Of the higher ones, 8,000 species of plants, 7,500 species of insects, 963 of fish, 121 of reptiles, 46 of amphibians, 350 species of birds and 42 of mammals are known.
A very important characteristic of Cuban flora and fauna is that there are no dangerous species for man. There are 2 species of crocodiles that do not attack man (at least without provocation), and the species of sharks in Cuban waters do not share the aggressiveness of their neighbors in Florida. Among the other species of reptiles or amphibians there are none poisonous and not even aggressive. Finally, mammals, in addition to being rare, are small and completely harmless.