'Pope's Crocodile' to return to Cuba
Image - AFP
An endangered miniature Cuban Crocodile (crocodylus rhombifer) smuggled out of Cuba, seized during a Customs inspection by Italian officials and dubbed 'The Pope's Crocodile' after being taken to a papal audience by officials from the Giardino Zoologico di Roma (Rome Zoo) is being returned to Cuba as a goodwill gesture ahead of a visit to the island by Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope is said to have touched the reptile personally during a general audience in January.
Senior papal advisor Archbishop Giovanni Becciu, who previously served as the Vatican's diplomatic representative to Cuba, was present at a spectacular send-off ceremony for the crocodile which was also attended by children waving Italian, Cuban and Vatican flags. His Excellency the Archbishop (pictured) wished the crocodile a pleasant journey and declared himself sure that "the people of such a magical and enchanted island will give as warm a welcome to the crocodile as they will to the Pope".
The reptile was then placed in a wooden box for travelling which was in turn loaded into a black limousine, a method of transport in stark contrast to its manner of entry to the country during which it was hidden in a sock in the suitcase of an Italian tourist. It will ultimately be released back into the wild after a time at Havana Zoo.
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