IMPACTANTE Cocodrilo en los Jardines de la Reina (FOTO)

Photo by @DavidDoubilet An American crocodile moves silently through shallow mangroves at night on an outgoing tide in Cuba’s Gardens of the Queen (Jardines de la Reina) National Marine Park. Dense mangrove systems surround and support the near pristine coral reef system that is best described as a time capsule in the Caribbean located nearly fifty miles off the Southern Coast of Cuba. The mangrove community provides stability during tropical storms and nursery habitat for marine organisms seeking protective cover. Marine scientist refer to the large crocodiles as the engineers of the mangroves because their activity creates new runways increasing water circulation. The stable population of these super predators are a symbol of a balanced ecosystem that supports an intact food chain. The American crocodile is one of the larger crocodile species with males reaching 13-15 feet and 800 pounds. Luckily for our team this species is not as aggressive as their relatives the saltwater croc and the critically endangered Cuban crocodile. Once we located them with our underwater lights we were able to slowly swim and backlight them as they calmly passed by us like submarines disappearing into the night. Photographed on assignment for @natgeo with @jenniferhayesig for the upcoming story on Cuba’s secret reefs. Since 2012, DAVIDOFF Cool Water has joined forces with the National Geographic Society to support their Pristine Seas Expeditions with #LoveTheOcean @davidoffparfums #WorldOceansDay #Ocean #ApexPredator #Crocodile #extreme #Cuba #JardinesdelaReina #NatGeoOceansDay

A photo posted by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Jun 8, 2016 at 11:03am PDT

El perfil oficial de Instagram de National Geographic Magazine ha publicado una espectacular foto, tomada por David Doublet que muestra cómo un cocodrilo americano se mueve a través de los manglares cubanos de la zona Jardines de la Reina.

Esta zona protegida de Cuba se compone de sistemas de manglares densos que rodean los arrecifes de coral virgen. Se compone de más de 600 cayos.

Jardines de la Reina es un archipiélago del mar Caribe en la parte sureste de Cuba, ubicada en las provincias de Camagüey y Ciego de Ávila entre el golfo de Ana María (noroeste), el golfo de Guacanayabo (Sur) y el canal de Caballones (Oeste). Fue llamado así por Cristóbal Colón en honor a la reina de España. Actualmente es uno de los parques nacionales de Cuba y una de las áreas protegidas más grandes de Cuba, abarcando una extensión de 2170 km².