Officials conduct sweep to rescue ‘living fossil’(Update)

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.- (UPDATE) Officials from varias agencies on Tuesday conducted a sweep at La Jaiba, where they rescued the solenodonte, a protected species, captured by a local man.

FILE.-A local man on Monday refused to turn over to authorities a solenodonte found several days ago in a wooded area of the village La Jaiba, La Isabela, Puerto Plata.

After being captured the animal was placed in a cardboard box tied with a rope, according to residents quoted by outlet diario.do.

They said the man who found the animal was about to hand it over to authorities, but a police agent told him to take it to the beach to sell instead.

“Don’t be a sap, a–hole, take that animal to the beach where you can get up 10 or 20,000 pesos for it," the policeman told the man who caught the strange animal.

National Zoo official Gerald Garcia, who went to La Jaiba to find the animal, without success, said solenodontes are a nearly extinct species, whereas Puerto Plata Environment director Carlos Finker Monday afternoon said he’ll travel to Isabeal to confiscate it.

Scientist have called the nocturnal solenodonte (Solenodon paradoxus) a "living fossil."