The Little Swan Island hutia was endemic only to the smaller of the Swan Islands. There is no fossil evidence that this hutia ever lived on Greater Swan Island, even though the vegetation of that island could have supported them. Some scientists speculate it may have been a subspecies of the Jamaican hutia, but that has never been confirmed. In 1887, Charles H. Townsend first observed this species. He said they were abundant. Little Swan Island had little digable soil, so the hutias lived in limestone caves. Fishermen observed them eating wild vines and hiding in clumps of cacti. In 1938, Moyne tried to establish a breeding colony of Little Swan Island hutias in England. He observed them as having little fear of people or dogs. He did have some success breeding them, but within three years of his attempted colony, all 12 hutias succumbed to diseases, specifically pneumonia. He predicted that one event on Little Swan Island could lead to the extinction of the Little SWan Island hutia. That foreshadowed what happened as Hurricane Janet devastated the area in 1955. Someone deposited a box of unwanted cats on the island sometime in the late 1950’s. The cats would have taken a toll on any hurricane survivors. A survey of Little Swan Island in 1960 failed to uncover any scat or other signs that the hutia still remained on the island. Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The Little Swan Island hutia might be a good candidate. Several specimens have been collected since its discovery. Moyne’s failed colony of hutia have also been preserved in the British museums, so would provide more recent specimens. Could the Little Swan Island hutia make a comeback if it was introduced back onto Little Swan Island?