'Extinct' mammal found in Cuba

Australian Advertiser ^ | Sep 24, 2003

[george wythe]

AN insect-eating mammal native to Cuba that was for years believed to be extinct has been found in the island's eastern mountains, a Cuban news agency reported.

The discovery of the male insectivore known as an almiqui (pronounced ahl-mee-KEE) raised hopes "that it will not wind up in the catalogue of the irretrievable animals disappearing from the face of the Earth", Prensa Latina said in reporting the discovery.

The creature looked like a brownish woolly badger with a long, pink-tipped snout, and could measure up to 50cm, according to Prensa Latina's dispatch yesterday.

The nocturnal animal burrowed underground during the daytime, which why it was rarely seen by people. After the sun went down, it emerged to root out worms, larvae, and insects.

Named Alejandrito by the farmer who found it, the living almiqui weighed 688g.

Veterinarians declared the animal to be in perfect health.

Alejandrito was held in captivity for two days of study and medical tests, then marked and let free in the same general area where it had been found, Prensa Latina said.

The almiqui was described for the first time in 1861 by German naturalist Wilham Peters, who wrote about the difference between the Cuban animal and a similar one found in neighbouring Haiti.

Since then, only 37 of the animals known by the scientific name solenodon cubanus have been captured, including Alejandrito.

The last reported sightings of the creatures were in 1972, in the eastern province of Guantanamo, and 27 years later in 1999, in the eastern province of Holguin.

[george wythe]

Almiqui:
Living Example of Male Insect-Eating Mammal Thought Extinct Found in Cuba

[mewzilla]

Awwwww. I think its kinda cute.

[ZGuy]

They taste like chicken.

[river rat]

Yes, a fat, bearded, cigar smoking, murderous communist sonofabitch called Castro.....

Kill him, and ensure he remains extinct..

Semper fi

[martin_fierro]

'Extinct' mammal found in Cuba

Yeah -- his name is Fidel.

[yonif]

I wish Castro was an extinct animal.

[denydenydeny]

[11th Earl of Mar]

Oh.. From your title, I thought Ted Kennedy was vacationing with Fidel again.

[Ima Lurker]

Oh, I thought this was a thread about Jimmy Hoffa.

[P.O.E.]

[george wythe]

.

It reminds me of a certain politician who shall remain nameless :-)

[ModelBreaker]

This is the key anti-castro breakthru. Get the greens to declare cuba to be the habitat of this endangered species. They will shut down everything useful and . . . wait, Castro already did that.

[Servant of the 9]

Batista?

So9

[Jhensy]

[Redwood71]

That Saddam is truly a master of disguise.

[george wythe]

.

Cuba has "environmentally-friendly" taxicabs. . . they look like golf carts, called "Coco Taxis" by the locals.

Look at the precious Workers' Paradise in the background, downtown Havana [Centro-Habana].

[Texas_Dawg]

Awesome. I want one. Mmmmmmm... almiqui.

[theFIRMbss]

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

They taste like chicken.

What cheap BS ........ more like spotted owl.