All language subtitles for Wild Cuba A Caribbean Journey BBC Natural World 1080p Part 2 EN SUB

Cuba is the Caribbean's most
precious natural jewel.

Forests still blanket
large parts of the island.

Her blue waters hide some
of the richest coral reefs

to be found anywhere.

And while many of the wild lands
and seas of the Caribbean

are in trouble, Cuba's extraordinary
history has created

a true wildlife wonderland.

Fully half of Cuba's animals and
plants are found nowhere else.

From their very own crocodiles
and snakes to the smallest birds

and frogs on the planet.

My name is Colin Stafford -Johnson.

I've been a wildlife cameraman

for over 30 years, and have never

lost my boyhood fascination
with this remarkable island.

I'm halfway through my Cuban
adventure, and as my journey

continues, Cuba's unique animals
and wild places transport me

to another world.

It's a good night tonight.

You see these sort of shadows
appearing out of the waves

and initially you think,
is that one?

And then suddenly,
the wave retreats.

Every J uly, this is where green
turtles come to lay their eggs.

Females that come to this beach
would have been born here

perhaps 20 years ago or so.

Although these are very much Cuban
turtles, they will wander

far from these shores
during their lives, and somehow

they manage to find their way
back to the very same place

where they were born.

It's one of the great mysteries,
for me, of the animal world.

Turtles are having a hard
time these days.

The oceans are not the pristine
places they used to be.

And it's a miracle, really, that
they make it back here at all.

TU RTLE H ISSES

It's a really difficult process.

They have been buoyant
all their lives.

They've been supported by
the salt water.

And now they have to hold
themselves,

feeling the full effects of
gravity,

maybe for the first time
in their lives.

It's not just a question
of reaching the beach.

They know they have to travel right
up beyond the spring tide mark.

That's where their eggs
will be safe.

TU RTLE H ISSES

As soon as she feels
that her flippers are reaching

down deep enough into the sand,
she goes into a trance and nothing

will stop her at that point.

TU RTLE H ISSES

Once she has them laid,
she covers up that hole.

That's all she can do.

SH E H ISSES

She will never meet her offspring,
and those offspring

that are developing there will never
meet their mum.

And hopefully, the eggs
that she's left developing

in the sand will be successful.

And in a couple of months' time...

...they'll hatch and the little
turtles will make their way

to the surface and

head to the ocean, just
like she did, once upon a time.

I think when you visit the tropics
for the first time, the thing

that really strikes you is just
how much life is there.

There are more species living
in the tropical zones

than all the other zones
of the world put together.

And when you have that heat and
light and fresh water in abundance,

and then stability over time,
it seems that that is what has given

rise to so many different creatures.

BI RDS TWEET

The island I come from was scraped
clean by the ice just a few

thousand years ago,

not long ago, even in terms
of human history, really.

But these places have been stable
and untouched for millions of years.

These are the great
cradles of evolution.

BI RDS TWEET

Cuba is woodpecker heaven.

These old palm trunks are perfect
nesting sites.

But finding a good tree often means
sharing with troublesome cousins.

Here, two different kinds
are close neighbours -

a West I ndian and a Cuban
Green woodpecker.

The West I ndians are notorious
and will do anything to avoid

the hard work of drilling
their own nest.

And will even kill the other bird's
chicks to take over.

WOODPECKERS CH I RP

This one thinks her green
neighbour's nest is worth a try.

WOODPECKER CH I RPS

Luckily, the Cuban Green chicks
are big enough to defend themselves.

CH ICK CH I RPS

The parents return to find
their chicks and family home

safe and secure.

Meanwhile, the raider heads
off to try her luck

on another promising nest.

But the Fernandina's Flicker is at
home and she's well able

to take care of herself.

BI RD SOUAWKS NOISI LY

The West I ndian finally
gives up and resigns herself

to finishing her own nest.

Her neighbours, including
this Screech owl,

will just have to put up with
the noise.

And the rubbish.

On the lower floor of the tree,
the Cuban Green woodpecker chicks

are getting close to the day
they leave.

For the parents, it's still
a nonstop battle to keep them

fed and happy.

WOODPECKER CH I RRU PS

CH ICK CALLS

Finally, the chicks are ready
for the biggest step of their lives.

One needs a little persuasion.

CH ICK CH EEPS IMPATI ENTLY

CH ICKS CH I RRU P NOISI LY

The parents will continue to feed
them until the chicks are strong

enough to fend for themselves
and deal with all the challenges

of life in Cuba's wild forests.

CACOPHANY OF BI RDSONG

Savannahs are really beautiful
places, but I can't help realising

how vulnerable all the cavity
nesters are.

Now, you would think there's lots
of places to nest around here,

you see all these palm trees,

but they only actually nest in
dead ones.

They are very few and far between.

You get a sense that there's a real
competition for nesting spaces

because you'll get more than one
cavity nester within the one tree.

And that really is a sign of...

that there's a lack of decent
nesting habitats here.

And it's the woodpeckers that make
the homes for all the other birds.

It's the woodpeckers that make
the holes that the owls will occupy.

It's the woodpeckers that make
the holes

that the parrots will occupy.

And they're facing
another serious problem.

That big, old, dead palm behind me -

there's a pair of Cuban
parrots nesting.

People want to keep things
like parrots as pets.

And they don't quite realise,
I think, what a massive impact

that has on the natural world.

The way that they get parrots
in Cuba, like they do in most parts

of the world, is if you find a dead
tree with a parrot nest up in it,

you just chop down the tree
and then you take out

the young parrots.

And then, of course, the dead tree
is not there next year.

So there's less and less nesting
habitat.

A dead tree.

It's not a huge amount to ask for.

If we can't give them that,
you know...

...a bit sad, really.

Like so much of its wildlife,

Cuba itself was born in the warm
tropical sea.

For three quarters of the island is
limestone,

formed from the skeletons
of sea creatures,

settled as fine sands on the seabed.

Millions of years of pressure
and upheaval created the rock

that forms most of the island today.

Limestone creates its very own
wonderland.

As rain and water dissolves it over
time, it riddles the island

with caves, both
above and below water.

This is a cenote,

a vertical
cave of collapsed limestone.

Many are hundreds of metres deep

and a very special

world unto themselves.

Over the eons, these peculiar places
have become home to some

very unusual creatures.

And in Cuba, this is perhaps
the most bizarre.

A garfish known as a manjuari.

One of the ancient fish designs,

manjuari have an
extraordinary ability -

they can breathe air.

If their water becomes too stagnant
and oxygen runs low, they can gulp

air from the surface to survive.

Manjuari give a unique insight into
how the very first fish

evolved to leave the sea
and survive on land

many millions of years ago.

A critical step in the evolution
of life on Earth.

BI RDSONG

I've never been any place
quite like this.

These mogotes, these spectacular,
steep, limestone mogotes.

The agriculture that's found
in the valleys

is very traditional, low impact.

And so, when you look at the mogotes
covered in forest,

they really look
like forested islands

in a sea of agriculture.

And when you wander through these
valleys around here, you can see

this agriculture running right
up to the mogotes.

So the only place, really, to see
the kind of animals

that should be in this area, is by
visiting the mogotes themselves.

This is really a remarkable sight.

You know, I'm so used to seeing
limestone features in Cuba now,

that, from a distance, these appear
to be little stalactites

all along the cliff.

And it's only when you get closer,

you realise some of them
are moving in the wind.

WASPS BUZZ

And they're wasps nests, each
of these is a separate

little colony of wasps.

Each one of these will have been
started by a fertilised female.

She would have made the decision
as to where to make the initial

attachment for the nest.

And she will give birth

to the whole colony -

workers that then assist
her in building up the colony.

And over the season, it
gets bigger and bigger.

Eventually, it will be abandoned.

Limestone is such a feature of Cuba,
it really is, and it's difficult

stuff to walk around on.

It's incredibly jagged. Rain, when
it falls, is slightly acidic

and it actually
cuts through this rock.

Hence, that's why there
are so many caves and crevices.

These, sort of, sheer limestone
cliffs afford some protection.

I sort of sense that these are
like fortresses, fortresses

for nature, a place where wildlife
retreats in time of danger.

These sheer limestone cliffs attract
the finest rock climbers in Cuba.

This is one of the very best -
a cliff anole.

A lizard completely adapted
to a vertical life.

For dexterity on these walls,

nothing can touch it,

except another cliff anole.

Fiercely territorial, this male
is trying to hold his patch

of the cliff from allcomers.

Another male is attempting
to move in.

This means war.

There's no violence,

just acrobatics,
showing who's king of this cliff.

Anoles change colour
depending on their mood.

The intruder has flushed dark brown.

He's not happy.

The original owner has the upper
hand here.

Looks like the battle is over.

He's maintained his patch.

Low level aggression.

Cuba's limestone country

hides more than 20,000 caves
and labyrinths,

a dark underworld, threading
through the whole island.

For bats, this underworld
is a lifeline,

one of the very last places to be
disrupted by humans.

BATS SOU EAK

Every night, these long tongued bats
head out for their journey

through the forest.

Unlike most bats, which primarily
eat insects, long tongue bats

have a very sweet tooth.

Like any sugar addict, it's
a craving that must be satisfied,

except their lives depend on it.

Every night,

the bats hunt down the sweet flowers
of the forest -

giant hibiscus with liquid
treasures in its heart.

The bats are wonderfully
adapted to the job.

Tiny bristles at the tip of their
long tongues give them extra

mopping power to soak up the nectar.

The bats also play their part
in the game of life.

Diving headlong into the flowers,

yellow powder dusts them over -

pollen.

The bats carry the pollen
from flower to flower,

and as they roam the dark forest,
they fertilise other flowers.

The same vital tasks carried out
by insects in the light of day.

All across the globe,
bats are critical pollinators.

But so much of their work is unseen
in the night.

They barely get
any of the credit they deserve.

Cuba has been isolated
for a long time.

And until human beings came
here just 5,000 years ago,

this place just had everything that
was required for life to evolve.

CACOPHANY OF BI RDSONG

Sometimes we overuse phrases
like "unique", I think.

That really is what Cuba IS.

It's a relatively small landmass

that has so many creatures found no

place else in the world.

That's what makes it so special.

As soon as I step
down into this little gully,

the whole atmosphere changes.

It's much more, sort of, moist and
humid than the surrounding area.

Amongst the bird calls,
you can hear these...

...tinkling sounds that almost

have a slightly,
sort of, metallic sound.

That's the sound that tells me
that they're an amphibian.

It's only the sounds that give them
away because you could wander

through here, and if they remain
silent, you'd have no idea

that they were here.

Oh, would you look at that!

The size of him!

Almost impossible to believe how
small he is!

I think I remember a time
when they were described

as the world's smallest frog.

But since then, maybe one or two
other species have been found

on other islands, which are possibly
a tiny bit smaller?

Now, officially science knows
this as the.

Monte I beria Eleuth,
named after the mountain

where they were first discovered but
locally, they're known as

ranita - the little frog.

I prefer that.

Ranita.

They were only discovered
about 25 years ago, and I guess

it would be very easy
to overlook them.

You go walking through the forest
and you hear those calls.

They could easily be mistaken
for an insect.

You know, the world is all the
richer for having little creatures

like this in it.

And these are the sorts
of little creatures

that are disappearing every day...

...unnoticed, some
before they've been discovered.

They really live at a totally
different sense of scale, and even

little creatures, which I consider
tiny, are enormous to them.

They really live in the land
of giants!

They can do these enormous
jumps for their size.

And that, I guess, is their way
of avoiding predators.

If something comes across them,

they can just leap totally
out of the way.

Besides that,
I'm sure they taste bad.

Now, they have those warning
colours.

They're telling a predator,
"You don't want to eat me", and a

lot of amphibians have toxins
in their skin,

but otherwise,
they look incredibly vulnerable.

These little guys must have evolved
on what would've been a great, vast

tract of primary forest once
upon a time, before European man

came and, sort of, upset
the apple cart.

They're very endangered
now because the habitat

in which they evolved,
has, for the most part, gone.

But they're surviving in little
gullies and things which are damp

and full of leaf litter, which will
have mimicked their original

rainforest home, and they can live
out their entire lives

without realising that that great,
big forest where they evolved,

hardly exists any more.

And I 'd love to have the time
to spend here to try and, you know,

uncover the mysteries of these
little creatures, because really,

no-one knows anything about them.

It's sort of hard to believe but
people really don't know

what they eat, how they breed,
when they breed.

And, in some ways, that's quite
nice. I n some ways I think

it's good when the natural world
keeps some secrets to itself,

that we don't know everything.

Keeps us guessing.

Cuba's classic American
cars are not just for show.

60,000 still travel Cuba's highways.

And they survive for a reason.

Cubans have often been too poor
to afford new ones.

For 60 years, a US embargo
has placed enormous restrictions

on the country and its ability
to trade and prosper

with the outside world.

The embargo has also slowed
down the development of Cuba's wild

lands and waters,

meaning less pressure on the
creatures that live there.

But an awful lot HAS changed
since the first Europeans arrived.

Historically, the great forests
of Cuba were cleared, essentially

any forest that could be easily
accessed in the lowlands

were all cleared for things
like sugar cane plantations

and for gathering charcoal,
for timber, for building,

and all that sort of thing.

And I think sometimes people
would come to a place

like this and they'd think, oh,
it's all lovely and green.

But it's a very different
green than it should be.

The reality is that Cuba's natural
world is a shadow of what it once

was, and a huge amount of the damage

was due to a system that bedevilled

this part of the world,

and this place is a monument

to those savage times.

Now, sometimes when you wander
around a place like these old ruins,

there's a real sense of nostalgia.

But this place has a very different
feeling for me.

For me, there's just a real sense
of sadness moving round in a place

like this because it was built
by exploiting other people.

There were 450 slaves working
on this particular plantation.

But perhaps a million over
the entire island, which is a pretty

staggering statistic, a million
people dragged from their homes

in Africa, over here, to work

this industry, incredibly
difficult, hard, manual labour.

It's just hard to imagine
these days.

It's just hard to...

...hard to imagine that people
could treat others like that.

The first thing, of course,
you had to do, if you want

to cultivate sugar cane
or coffee on a vast scale,

was that you had to remove
the native vegetation.

But so many of the animals
that had evolved here,

so many of the endemic ones evolved
very closely with the plants.

But when European man arrived,

he had no intentions of living
with that forest.

It was all about clearing
it, making land available.

And most of the wildlife that lived
here, they had no answer for that.

The opulence of the big houses
contrasted completely with the lives

of the people who lived around them.

I get a similar sense sometimes,
when I'm sort of wandering

through the big old houses
in I reland

that belonged to the landlords.

But no nostalgia here.

There was nothing
good about those times.

From a human and a wildlife
point of view.

Nothing like travelling by boat
to get close to things.

This is really my favourite
time of day.

It's listening to the world wake up.

BI RDSONG

Never tire of listening to the
birds early in the morning,

no matter where I am in the world.

BI RDS CH I RRU P AN D SOUAWK

BI RD TRI LLS

That is a sound I recognise.

BI RD TRI LLS

Echoing from the cliffs, it's a
wonderful sound.

But they know exactly what bird that
is that's calling right now.

They're a family of birds that
I've just always loved.

BI RD TRI LLS

That's the call of the Cuban Trogon,
the national bird.

And their colours represent the
national flag of Cuba.

Trogons, you can sort of creep up on
them in the forest

and they tend to perch on a branch
with their backs to you,

and then they slowly sort of look
over their heads to see you,

slow motion, you can get really
close to them if you're careful.

Shouldn't really have favourites
amongst the birds, I guess.

But Trogons are one of my
favourites.

There's something about them.

Something incredibly relaxing,
I think, about being surrounded

by natural sounds.

And I guess
that's not surprising

that when we evolved,
this is what the world sounded like.

No combustion engines.

BI RDSONG

Just nature.

And it's a real example,
like you've seen in so many parts

of the world, where it's the sort
of physical geography

that has protected the forest.

Lots of the original vegetation
is still here.

And so all the birds are here
as a result.

These old forests in Humboldt
Province may hide the answer to one

of the biggest mysteries
in the bird world.

Are there any ivory-billed
woodpeckers left on Earth?

These forests are the last place
on Earth where the ivory-billed

woodpeckers were seen.

And many believe some may
still survive here in Cuba.

Amongst bird watchers, it became
the Holy Grail to find that bird.

It captured the imagination
and I think, possibly, because some

film of it exists.

Back in the 1930s, someone actually
filmed a pair

at a nest before it disappeared.

And it's a very evocative and sad
piece of film to watch these days,

to know that such a magnificent
creature has actually disappeared.

That we were responsible directly
for its demise is something I think

that hits pretty hard.

But even to this day, there
are people who I've met

who are convinced
that the woodpecker still exist

here in some of the remnant
patches of ancient forests

that still are here. Although
it's a very slim possibility,

expeditions still come
on a regular basis,

exploring these forests in the hope
of seeing this almost, sort

of, mythical bird once more.

But it's a nice thought
that just perhaps, just perhaps,

it's out there somewhere.

To the first settlers and explorers,
Cuba was a bewildering maze.

The island itself has
6,000km of coastline and

off shore, more than 4,000
islands and small coral quays.

One of her most precious
national treasures

are vast forests,
all along its coast,

of a very special plant.

Mangroves -

the only trees that thrive
in the sea.

Almost no others can survive
the salt of the ocean.

So many parts of the Caribbean,
the islands,

have lost their mangrove cover

and there's an active campaign
in Cuba to look after them,

you're not allowed to cut them down.

There is no better coastal
defence than mangroves.

They can absorb just about anything.

There's parts of the country
where you'll see

where there've been big cyclones.

You can see the damage that's
been done to the natural vegetation,

but the coastline itself
has been protected.

If you look after your mangroves,

you don't have to worry

about your coast being destroyed.

It's that sort of coastal
protection,

that's the reason why they're now
being looked after.

It just so happens
that they are extremely

important wildlife habitats.

And lots of fish and the like

that spend their lives on the reef,

actually grow up here.

So they're an essential part of the
overall wellbeing of the sea.

This is like one great, big nursery.

The little creatures find
great shelter here, where

they would be gobbled up
if they were out on the open sea.

This gives them great protection.

There are very few currents here,
very few sort of larger fish.

There's all sorts of food.

Every root seems to be covered
in little sponges,

and urchins and polyps.

And you're just aware
that there is life everywhere.

And I love places like that.

And I think when you're surrounded
by lots of living things,

it's just good to know that's
the way the world's supposed to be.

Cuba has its very own breed
of crocodile found nowhere else,

and they like to eat hutia,

one of only two kinds of land
mammals native to Cuba.

If they can catch one.

Once widespread, Cuban crocodiles
are now only found in the swamps

of Zapata and on the Isle of Youth

off Cuba's southern coast.

Relentlessly hunted in the past,

they're now critically endangered.

Larger American crocodiles
are invading their freshwater swamps

and interbreeding with the Cuban
females, threatening to wipe out

the Cuban species completely.

I n the crocodile world,

the Cubans are regarded
as being especially

intelligent and inquisitive.

CROCODI LE GROWLS

Beside their needle sharp teeth,
mobility is their other weapon.

The Cubans are extremely agile
and can sprint

at more than 15km an hour.

TH EY H ISS

It's breeding time.

And this female is
looking for a mate.

CROCODI LE GROWLS

Eager to be of service,

the two biggest males
spring into action.

TH EY GROWL TH REATEN I NGLY

Widely regarded as the most
aggressive of all crocodiles,

in the past these huge reptiles were
greatly feared by Cuban people.

CROCODI LE GROWLS

The victor of this brutal contest
will father this year's

brood of youngsters.

Today, Cuba's unique crocodiles face
a very uncertain future.

Perhaps 3,000 remain on the planet.

With so few surviving, every
successful mating

is a cause for celebration.

These youngsters won't be
independent for several months,

but straight out of the egg, Cuban
crocodile babies display

the agility and resilience
that has kept their kind alive

for so many millions of years.

Let's hope these survivors
are a new beginning

and not one of the final chapters in
the story of the Cuban crocodile.

Cuba now stands as a crossroads.

For decades, the outside world
has been largely kept at bay.

And for most Cubans, the pace
of life has changed very little.

I've been obsessed with Cuba ever
since I was a child.

Remember from books I read and that
idea of these faraway islands,

tropical islands, coral shores.

They were really the stuff,

the stuff of my childhood
imagination.

For me, it's been an absolute
privilege to explore wild Cuba,

to see so many
of its natural riches,

and to realise just what a unique
place this really is.

I've seen some remarkable creatures
I've always wanted to see.

They're worth more than anything
found in any museum in the world.

This place is full of absolute
treasures.

But there's now huge pressure
on Cuba to develop -

more industry,

more agriculture,

more tourists.

This place is a real cradle of
evolution and many of the creatures

that evolved here can survive
no place else.

This is their one and only home.

They have no second Cuba.

Under the sands of Caya Largo,

hundreds of new lives are stirring.

Their time has come.

Two months have passed since our
female green turtle laid her eggs.

As the first babies break
through, the eggs deep down

hatch frantically so they're not
left behind.

So this baby turtle has never
opened her eyes before now.

Powerful instincts propel
her toward the sound and smell

of the sea.

From the moment she left the warm
embrace of the nest,

she must fend entirely for herself.

DRAMATIC MUSIC PLAYS

On the very first day of her life,
there's a good chance she will not

even make it to the water.

This time, another hatchling
has paid the price.

Less than one in 1,000 baby
turtles reach adulthood.

Their best defence
are other turtles.

It's why they hatch and break
for the ocean together.

She's made it to the sea, but there
are countless challenges ahead.

I n shallow water, she's easy prey
and must get to deep water

where she has some chance
of surviving.

If her luck holds, she will wander
the open ocean,

travelling up to a thousand
kilometres from home.

And 20 years from now, a mysterious
switch will make her turn and head

back to Cuba to lay her own eggs.

The question is,

will Cuba welcome her with the same
clean sands enjoyed by her

ancestors for so many generations
before her?

Only time will tell.