"<p><strong>Scientific classification</strong>: <em>Geocapromys brownii</em></p><p><strong>Location:</strong> Jamaica</p><p>Native to Jamaica's rural limestone hills, the hutia, which is commonly known as a coney, has long been part of the island's history. The rodents, around the size of cottontail rabbits, were first <a href=""http://caribya.com/jamaica/history/taino.indian/"" rel=""nofollow noopener"" target=""_blank"" data-ylk=""slk:hunted for food"" class=""link rapid-noclick-resp"">hunted for food</a> by indigenous Taino Indian groups living on the island centuries before European contact. While they avoid the cities, the nocturnal creatures have been seen across the island from the <a href=""https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1356"" rel=""nofollow noopener"" target=""_blank"" data-ylk=""slk:Blue and John Crow Mountains"" class=""link rapid-noclick-resp"">Blue and John Crow Mountains</a> to the remote tropical dry forest of the the <a href=""http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100915/news/news3.html"" rel=""nofollow noopener"" target=""_blank"" data-ylk=""slk:Hellshire Hills"" class=""link rapid-noclick-resp"">Hellshire Hills</a>.</p><p>The rodents have faced the brunt of a changing region for decades now. Areas like the Hellshire Hills <a href=""https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1015593032374"" rel=""nofollow noopener"" target=""_blank"" data-ylk=""slk:have faced"" class=""link rapid-noclick-resp"">have faced</a> major deforestation and habitat loss, while over-hunting has become an issue. Faced with loss of habitat, the coneys have been forced to interfere with human life, eating crops and damaging tree roots in farms. Becoming a nuisance to humans is a dangerous step that could lead to even more hunting in the future. The continued damage was significant enough for the IUCN to <a href=""https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/9001/22186569"" rel=""nofollow noopener"" target=""_blank"" data-ylk=""slk:list them as endangered."" class=""link rapid-noclick-resp"">list them as endangered. </a></p>"
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