The Darwin Initiative from the United Kingdom continues with its action plan to save the Hutia and the Solenodon from extinction. The plan has been drawn up together with the Ministry of the Environment, the Hispaniola Ornithological Society, the National Zoo and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT).
A two-day workshop is being held with the participation of organizations including the Jaragua Group, The Nature Conservancy, the Center for the Conservation of Samana Bay and Surroundings (CEBSE), the Punta Cana Ecological Foundation and the MCCQ country movement.
Both species can be found in the western part of Haiti and in the Sierra Bahoruco, Jaragua National Park, Los Haitises, the Parque del Este, Punta Cana, and other areas in the Dominican Republic.
The main threats to these two species are deforestation and dogs, which together account for 68% of the deaths reported in the Sierra de Bahoruco. They are also being poisoned because they eat the tallow which farmers use to get rid of rats and ferrets.
www.thelastsurvivors.org/the-project/
www.diariolibre.com/ecos/2012/10/10/i355183_medio-ambiente-varias-entidades-buscan-conservar-hutia-solenodonte.html