Cuban children with disabilities pet jaguars and snakes for therapy

Baby jaguars and an intricately colored endemic boa known as the 'maja' are among the exotic animals at Cuba's national zoo that parents and teachers say provide unusually effective therapy to children with special needs.

Children pet the jaguars and play with their paws, stroke the cool, moist skin of snakes and give milk to a zebu cow as part of a program aimed at helping those with special needs overcome fears, zookeepers said.

"In the Americas we are pioneers in working with these exotic species," said zoo development director and animal therapy specialist Yaima Pueblas.

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"Apart from breaking barriers of fear... it also encourages them to care for and protect the environment."

The program has proven a rare bright spot for children with Down's syndrome, autism and other special needs, teachers and parents told Reuters, during a particularly tough time on the Caribbean island hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis.