Castro's Cold War crocs

Ten crocodiles with a rich heritage dating back to the Cold War return to Cuba.

Their parents were Castro and Hilly presented by Fidel Castro to the Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov, who took them to Moscow and then donated them to a Swedish zoo.

The offspring have now returned to Cuba and are set to be released back into the wild to bolster the diminishing population in the Zapata zoo.

“Firstly Fidel Castro will be amazed that a gift that he presented to a Soviet friend has proved so fruitful and worthwhile, I think he’ll be very happy.”

The Cuban crocodile is in grave danger, formally numerous across the Caribbean, it is now only found in two swamps in Cuba, where it is threatened by interbreeding with American crocodiles, loss of habitat and poaching.