Cuban solenodon 'rediscovered' after 10-year search

S

Surroundx

Well-Known Member
"A primitive, venomous mammal endemic to Cuba and once listed as extinct has been rediscovered after a decadelong quest...A team of Cuban and Japanese researchers has been searching for the animals, known by locals as almiquí, [since 2003]. They finally had success this March and April when they captured and studied seven of the rare creatures."

Source: Solenodon: ‘Extinct’ Venomous Mammal Rediscovered in Cuba after 10-Year Search | Extinction Countdown, Scientific American Blog Network
 
Thanks Surroundx

This is very good news. Solenodons only get reported every few years, but it means that they are surviving, despite the introduction of predators to the Caribbean. I read recently that the Cuban and Hispaniolan species diverged about 60 million years ago, very early in 'The Age of Mammals'. It is a pity that solenodons are so poorly known and that some of the money being spent on more popular species isn't being used to increase the population of wild solenodons. It's also a shame that I didn't visit London Zoo in the early days of the Clore Pavilion, when there was a Hispaniolan solenodon on show. Zootierliste also lists this species having lived at Frankfurt (1966-1973), Halle (1935-1937), Leipzig (@ 1930), Antwerp and Wroclaw (1936-1940).
 
Dassie rat said:
Thanks Surroundx

This is very good news. Solenodons only get reported every few years, but it means that they are surviving, despite the introduction of predators to the Caribbean. I read recently that the Cuban and Hispaniolan species diverged about 60 million years ago, very early in 'The Age of Mammals'. It is a pity that solenodons are so poorly known and that some of the money being spent on more popular species isn't being used to increase the population of wild solenodons. It's also a shame that I didn't visit London Zoo in the early days of the Clore Pavilion, when there was a Hispaniolan solenodon on show. Zootierliste also lists this species having lived at Frankfurt (1966-1973), Halle (1935-1937), Leipzig (@ 1930), Antwerp and Wroclaw (1936-1940).
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Great news and confirmation of local lore.

In captivity: add Havana, Cuba itself.
 
Dassie rat said:
Does Havana Zoo still have solenodons?
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As noted in the article linked in the first post, no living individuals had been seen for about 10 years (last living seen in 2003; in 2005 a recently dead one was found), i.e. none in zoos today.
However, strictly speaking it wasn't rediscovered with the recent records. It was rediscovered in 1974. Before the 1974 record, it hadn't been seen for almost 100 years and some though it was extinct. Since then, despite relatively limited searches, a few specimens have been recorded every decade and it has been generally recognized as hard to find and rare. No one thought it was possibly extinct.
Regardless, the new records are remarkable and any new information we can get about this threatened species is an important step forward.
 
condor said:
trictly speaking it wasn't rediscovered with the recent records.
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That's why I placed "rediscovered" in ' ' marks :) The black and white colouration is very unusual, although I'd never seen a photograph of a Cuban solenodon before I saw the news article I linked to.
 
Surroundx said:
That's why I placed "rediscovered" in ' ' marks :) The black and white colouration is very unusual, although I'd never seen a photograph of a Cuban solenodon before I saw the news article I linked to.
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It might be an older individual, as most recorded have been black and blonde.
 
How long did the solenodon at the London Zoo live in captivity? Is it the only individual that has been in a zoo outside of Cuba?
 
Hallo David

http://www.zoochat.com/2/solenodon-244105/ is another post about solenodons. Tim May said that "the solenodon arrived at London Zoo in 1967, the year that the Clore Pavilion opened. It is listed in the ZSL Annual Report for 1967 as not only a species but also a family new to the collection". This is the only solenodon that has lived at London Zoo, but it seems as if it only lasted a few months. I can check with the relevant edition of the International Zoo Yearbook to check if it was still alive in 1968. The Yearbook used to list rare animals around the world and it's a shame that this section has ben dropped. Supposedly, it's easy to find the information on the internet, but since ISIS became a subscription site, the information isn't that easy to uncover.

Please note that the Hispaniolan solenodon was kept at London Zoo. Zootierliste also lists this species having lived at Frankfurt (1966-1973), Halle (1935-1937), Leipzig (@ 1930), Antwerp and Wroclaw (1936-1940). From Stillwater: NY Times Solenodon Letter says that the Bronx Zoo had Hispaniolan solenodons. animals, animals, animals says there were 20 captive Hispaniolan solenodons at 5 zoos around the world in June 1969. EDGE :: Mammal Species Information mentions 3 males at the National Zoo of Santo Domingo.

Kifaru Bwana also says that Havana Zoo has kept Cuban solenodons and I have read this elsewhere. [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solenodon]Solenodon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame] shows a Cuban solenodon at New York Zoo.
 
Thanks David

I've liked solenodon since I first found out about them when I was a young boy. I think it may have something to do with them tripping over their feet, which I can sympathise with.
 
Dassie rat said:
This is the only solenodon that has lived at London Zoo, but it seems as if it only lasted a few months. I can check with the relevant edition of the International Zoo Yearbook to check if it was still alive in 1968.
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Sadly the London Zoo Hispaniolan solenodon did only live a few months.

According to “Longevity of Mammals in Captivity" (Richard Weigl, 2005) the longevity records for solenodons are:-

• Hispaniolan solenodon: arrived Bronx Zoo 28th April 1965; died Washington Zoo 13th September 1976.

• Cuban solenodon; arrived Philadelphia Zoo 21st December 1886; died 26th July 1892.
 
Thanks Tim

Did you ever see the solenodon at London Zoo?

I once had a talk with H.A. Moore, who was a zoo volunteer about 10 years ago. He saw the thylacines that lived in an enclosure near where the Snowdon Aviary is. Perhaps he also saw the solenodon, as well as many other rare and extinct anmals.
 
Dassie rat said:
Thanks Tim

Did you ever see the solenodon at London Zoo?

I once had a talk with H.A. Moore, who was a zoo volunteer about 10 years ago. He saw the thylacines that lived in an enclosure near where the Snowdon Aviary is. Perhaps he also saw the solenodon, as well as many other rare and extinct anmals.
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Yes, fortunately I was lucky enough to see the solenodon -but only once.

London Zoo's last thylacine lived in the North Mammal House which was indeed very close to the Snowdon Aviary. (I remember the building well.)
 
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Thanks Tim

It's a pity that I don't remember visiting the zoo in 1967. When I came to the zoo with my family in the 1960s, we tended to visit the same areas each time: Lion House, Monkey House, Mappin Terraces, Elephant and Rhinoceros Pavillion and Cotton Terraces. I don't remember visiting any of the general mammal houses, but my family were more keen on the ABC animals. I visited the Clore Pavillion in 1968 and I've seen the edition of 'Great Zoos of the World' where Anthony Smith said that the building had 120 species of mammals, which is over 50% more than all the species of mammals kept in London Zoo today.
 
As I have said in other threads, I saw the Hispaniolan solenodon at Frankfurt in'73. I wish I had been able to take a photo, but I do remember the way it waddled around with it back legs far apart, like a baby crawling with a wet nappy.

Alan
 
Dassie rat said:
Thanks Tim

I visited the Clore Pavillion in 1968 and I've seen the edition of 'Great Zoos of the World' where Anthony Smith said that the building had 120 species of mammals, which is over 50% more than all the species of mammals kept in London Zoo today.
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120 mammal species in one building? Woah. There must have been a lot of small enclosures. Does anybody have a list of what was in there?

When I visited the London Zoo in 1997 I remember visiting the small mammal/nocturnal house. Would that have been the Clore Pavilion?
 
DavidBrown said:
120 mammal species in one building? Woah. There must have been a lot of small enclosures. Does anybody have a list of what was in there?
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David Wooderson was the zoo volunteer in charge of the 'small mammal trolley'. This included a list of all the mammals that had been kept in the Clore Pavillion. TDavid had obtained the list from Frank Wheeler, who was in charge of the house. The trolley collection was broken up several years ago and David and Frank have died. I don't know what happened to the list of species, but I remember seeing some quite unusual species during my visits.
 
In 1997 Frank Wheeler provided the IZES (Independent Zoo Enthusiasts Society) with a list of all species exhibited in the Clore during the period 1967-1996. Anyone interested in a copy, please pm me.
 
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