Hutia

So while Peyton the kids and I ate with Spencer, Gerald and Nohad on Friday night, Nohad posed this question. She leaned in and sheepishly asked if I had ever heard of a "Banana Rat?" I laughed and yet I was a bit shocked. How in the world had Nohad heard of our local "Banana Rats?" A Banana Rat, or rather the Hutia is a mammal native to the Caribbean. They are called "Banana Rats" by us here in Gtmo not because of what they eat, but because their poop looks like tiny black bananas. In fact Maegan once picked up one of the tiny "bananas" and asked me if it was a nut or baby banana. Yum!! Here are some stock photos of the Cuban Banana Rat.

Interesting enough, they are said to be all over the island and while I see their tiny banana poop and pee everywhere, including our porch, I have yet to see one alive. They remind me of that other elusive creature the Armadillo. You know they must be alive when hit by cars, yet you never see one that isn't smashed or with four legs in the air. So too for the Banana Rat. At least for me. Everyone tells me you can see them everywhere if you just look, but seriously I HAVE been looking, like mad and yet I have never seen one living. That is until last night. Yep I saw my first real living Hutia. Sitting on the side of the road. I was tempted to stop the car and enjoy the moment, but we are just talking about glorified rodents here, so on I went. I did find out one thing though that disturbs me quite a bit. The Cubans hunt and eat this animal. While they can get quite large, something like weighing close to 15lbs, I can't imagine eating one of them. Again sort of that back hills delicacy opossum back home. There is apparently a yummy stew they make out of it. I will be staying away from the roadside food stand that is for sure....

So I can now say that I have not only seen the evidence of said Banana Rats but I have had my first experience with a live one. On to more Gtmo adventures...