Hispaniolan hutia (Plagiodontia aedium)

Nicely done! Was the Solenodon still on exhibit next-door?

yes, it was! unfortunately, it was asleep and pretty curled up so it was hard to tell it was a solenodon...

Just to clarify, the exhibits for Hispanolian solenodon and Hispanolian hutia are located in the same building, a building dedicated to mammal species endemic to Hispanolia?

@UngulateNerd92 that is indeed the case - both exhibits are in the same building but separated by some plexiglass division (seen on the right side of the picture). There is a second enclosure for bats but I don't recall the species held.

@toto98 ah very nice. Thank you. I am glad to see them raising awareness for their endemic species. Though the building is meant for mammals, it would be nice to see the zoo move their Ridgeway's hawks (another Hispanolian endemic) to the same building.

@UngulateNerd92 Absolutely! unfortunately, the Ridgeway's hawks cage is quite small and old-school. Would be great to have them in an appropriate exhibit to showcase their natural behaviours a bit more. The zoo grounds are also great to see some endemic bird species, so it would be ideal to shed light on those too.

@toto98 that would be a great idea! I would like to see signage for local native wildlife. Besides the Ridgeway's hawks, Hispanolian solenodon, Hispanolian hutia, and various bat taxa, which other Hispanolian endemics did the zoo keep that you remember from your visit?

Also, do you know if the zoo has supported any field conservation and re-wilding work with species native to Hispanolia?

@toto98 Yes, the bats weren't in place yet when I visited. Did you happen to take a picture of the signage of the bat exhibit?

Bats were as far as I could tell (saw only two in a badly lit exhibit while being rushed through by a “guide”) Jamaican Fruit-eating Bat (Artibeus jamaicensis)