This highly successful crocodile-breeding facility, run by the Ministerio de la Industria Pesquera, straddles the road as you come into Boca de Guamá from the Autopista. On the right-hand side of the road is the actual breeding facility (tours available), which is more interesting if you want to learn a little about the reptilian beasts. On the left, next to the Guamá boat launch, is a kind of mini-zoo where you can watch a daily feeding show.
Two species of crocodiles are raised here: the native and endangered Crocodylus rhombifer (cocodrilo in Spanish, or Cuban crocodile), and the Crocodylus acutus (caimán in Spanish), which is found throughout the tropical Americas.
Prior to the establishment of this program in 1962 (considered the first environmental protection act undertaken by the revolutionary government), these two species of marsh-dwelling crocodiles were almost extinct.
The breeding has been so successful that in the adjacent Boca de Guamá complex you can buy stuffed baby crocodiles or dine, legally, on crocodile steak.
If you buy anything made from crocodile leather at Boca de Guamá, be sure to ask for an invoice (for the customs authorities) proving that the material came from a crocodile farm and not wild crocodiles. A less controversial purchase would be one from the site's Taller de Cerámica.
