Cuba’s Hidden Natural Secrets

With green lush landscapes, and home to various luxuriant habitats, Cuba is a true heaven for nature lovers. From beaches to coastal mangrove, and rugged mountains to lush green valleys, Cuba offers a wide array of opportunities to travelers seeking exotic wildlife. About 50% of Cuba’s extraordinary 6,000 plant and tree species are endemic to the island. Many of those have origins in African varieties which appear to have been drifted across the Atlantic or blown by strong wind currents.

Most of the island’s animal species are believed to come from North America along a landmass which connected Cuba to South America. Once the island was separated from the continent, these species evolved in a different way than their ancestors, creating a completely unique habitat filled with animals found nowhere else. Cuba is also home to over 350 species of birds, most of which use the island as a winter resting spot, as well as more than 1,000 species of insects.

Here is a list of several species unique to Cuba that travelers should be on the lookout for. These are some of the best hidden secrets of the islands and are not always easily spotted. Hire a guide to help you to distinguish them.

Cuba’s most interesting flora includes the fragrant white mariposa, Cuba’s national flower, although not indigenous of the island. The royal palm, rising up to 24m and a prized resource, used for tobacco drying, cladding buildings, and animal feed, is also Cuba’s national emblem.

Look out for the Cuban trogon, Cuba’s national bird boasting a beautiful and colorful pagoda shaped tail. Its red, blue and white colors, remainder of the country’s flag, made it a perfect choice to symbolize Cuba. Although the trogon strives in the Cuban forest, you are more likely to hear its piercing shriek than see it. The exquisite Greta Cubana is one of the only species of clear-winged butterflies in the world. This beautiful species, found in the humid forest near Santiago in Eastern Cuba, boasts translucent wings edged in black and brimmed with a bright red band.

By: Hortense Soulier

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This guide to the wildlife of Cuba was written by a Cuba travel expert at Cuba For Less available to help you custom design your exciting and adventurous Cuba vacations.