Cuba; Culture & Wildlife Adventure

Cuban Wildlife & Cultural Adventure

In May 2010 Martin and Kate (Director and photographer for Royle Safaris) travelled to Cuba to research new destinations for holidays we offer. Cuba is home to a large number of endemic species and many more endangered ones too. Being the largest island in the Caribbean and its proximity to USA means that the variety of wildlife here is staggering.

During the 10 days spent in Cuba we visited many of the best tourist destinations as well as going off the beaten track to search for some of the rarer animals in Cuba. Being a relatively small island most of the best wildlife spots are easily reached by car. This is also a brilliant way of seeing the real Cuba; such a passionate and patriotic people have transformed this country into a very environmentally friendly place (Cuba is one of the few self sustainable countries in the world); partly because of the trade embargo meaning that nearly everything the Cuban population uses is made and produced in Cuba and as a result is sustainable.

But along with visiting the culturally unique places such as Havana (the capital which is mostly unchanged from the 16-17 centuries) and Santa Clara (where the late Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara derailed an arms train to greatly aid the 26^th July Party; led by the current president Fidel Castro; to take Cuba from the dictator Batista in 1959). We also visited Ceinaga de Zapata Parque Nacional. This is the largest park in Cuba and the largest area of swampland in the Caribbean. The park is home to a huge amount of bird life and some of the rarest North American animals such as West Indian Manatees and Cuban Crocodiles; however the major draw for coming here is to try and find the world’s smallest bird. The Bee-Hummingbird; at only 6.4cm from bill to tail tip it is an amazing animal. Called a Bee-hummingbird for the noise made when it flies (as its wings beat at around 1200 beats per minute) it generates a load buzzing. Its also this buzzing which is the main way anyone ever finds this bird (as its so small and an incredibly fast flier). We were lucky enough to find a nesting female on here nest, which is the size on an egg cup and made from lichen and spiders webs. As we watched the female on the nest from only about one foot away we were amazed to see her take off and let us view her chick. Around the size of a common English wasp the chick was a perfectly formed bird, with feathers, a bill, little claws and all the internal organs of its mother or any other bird. Its quite amazing to see a bird the size of an insect and that alone fully justifies the trip to Cuba!

If you are interested in any of our Birding Holidays have a look at what we have to offer.

Cuban Tragoon

Cuban sunset

Cuban Anole

Bee Hummingbird

Wildlife Photographer Option

Optional Photographer to Document your Holiday

At Royle Safaris we are proud to announce the option of having a professional photographer accompany us on our safaris. For an extra fee (divisible by the number of people in your group) which is dependant on the individual holiday.

Our photographer is Kate Ainsworth of Karma Images; she is the partner of Martin (Royle Safaris Director) and she has vast experience in travel and wildlife photography. Most of the pictures featured on this website and in our brochures were taken by Kate out in the field.

The pluses of having a photographer along for the duration are many, including the fact that you don’t have to panic if you miss a photo opportunity as the chances are Kate will have snapped it up already. She will also document the trip for you and your group and everyone will receive a 40 picture photo album showing the best shots from the holiday as well as a CD with around 250-500 pictures from the entire trip. In addition to all these we give you the option to choose your favourite image and have a 16 x 20 inch print or canvas printed up.

Along with having great photography skills Kate is an avid wildlife lover and has a great knowledge of many of the plants and animals we will be viewing.

If you are interested in having Kate join us on any of our Wildlife Holidays please send us an email on info@royle-safaris.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.

Royle Safari's Wildlife Photogrpaher