Hutias: Capromyidae - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Hutias And People, Cuban Hutia (capromys Pilorides): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, CONSERVATION STATUS

Hutias are found exclusively in the Caribbean, particularly Cuba, the Bahamas, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

Hutias usually live in forests, plantations, scrublands, marshy areas, and mountainous, rocky areas of rainforest. Brown's hutia, also known as the Jamaican hutia, usually lives on exposed areas of limestone in the interior of Jamaica. They build their nests in rock crevices or tunnels. The largest populations of hutia are in Cuba, including the Cuban hutia, black-tailed hutia, and prehensile-tailed hutia.

Some hutias, such as the eared hutia, are omnivores, meaning that they eat both plants and flesh, but eat mostly plants. Their diet includes leaves, fruit, and bark, and occasionally lizards, and small animals. Some species, such as Brown's hutia, are herbivores, meaning that they eat only plants.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) lists five species that have recently become Extinct, died out; six species that are Critically Endangered, facing an extremely high risk of extinction; and four species that are Vulnerable, facing a high risk of extinction.