714 Mammals, Conservation Efforts for Geocapromys ingrahamii Geocapromys brownii Plagiodontia aedium Solenodon paradoxus Mysatales melanurus Capromys pilroides 100 200 300 Kilometers Figure Map of the geographic ranges of five of the hutias and the Hispaniolan solenodon Solenodon paradoxus within the Caribbean The species’ ranges are based on data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2010) Mesocapromys sanfelipensis Mesocapromys auritus Solenodon cubanus Mysateles gundlachi Mesocapromys nanus Mysateles prehensilis Mysateles garridoi Mysateles meridionalis Mesocapromys angelcabrerai 100 200 Figure Map of Cuba, showing the geographic ranges of Solenodon cubanus and the eight Cuban hutias The species’ ranges are based on data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2010) hutias have very low reproductive rates and typically give birth to one or two young per litter; nevertheless in well protected areas some species can reach very high densities For example, in Guatanamo Bay in Cuba, Desmarest’s hutia, the least threatened of all hutias, reaches densities of more than 1000 animals per square kilometer and its population is now managed to reduce impacts on human infrastructure With high density populations and good tasting meat, hutias were a very important source of food for Amerindians as they colonized the region, and they are thought to have been kept in semidomestication and transported between islands as a food source The first meat that Columbus tasted on his arrival to the New World was probably hutia Compared to many mammals, the ecology and status of solenodons and hutias is very poorly known This constrains the prioritization of conservation resources and the design of targeted species-specific conservation actions and habitat protection measures At various times during the past century, a number of the solenodon and hutia species have been declared extinct and then periodically ‘‘rediscovered’’ when animals were searched for or opportunistically found dead by scientists However, three of the species now seem very likely to be extinct, and surveys are urgently needed to confirm their status Threats The earliest major human impact on the Caribbean land mammals was hunting for food by Amerindians, which is likely to have caused a number of species extinctions Hunting hutia for food has carried on until today, although the extent and population impacts aren’t precisely known In Haiti, there is some evidence that Hispaniolan solenodons are also