Hispaniolan Solenodon.

If ever there was an animal that looked like a who from whoville, it'd be this one.

It's found, you guessed it, in Hispaniola (The island split by DR and Haiti). Though it is not closely related, it is sometimes described as a shrew because of its long and mobile nose.

Their defense is essentially a strong odor and a venomous bite -- one that even its own species is not immune to (most poisonous animals are immune to its own poison). They also scare easy, clumsily run around (they're nocturnal, so eyesight during the day isn't so fantastic), and threaten to bite.

Though they are one of the few native mammals left in the island, the landscape has changed so drastically with the arrival of people, that their adaptations can't protect them from predators (for example, an Asian mongoose). So their numbers are extremely low.

What's tricky is now that the landscape has changed, it's very difficult to find an argument to protect them from a conservation standpoint. There is the argument that there is an intrinsic and irreplaceable value in the natural world, but obviously not everyone agrees with that -- hence a current environmental catastrophe. Most endangered species can be tied to its ecology and suggest how the ecological landscape might change should a specific animal suddenly disappear. However, since there are so few of these solenodons left, and the landscape is totally different than when they were most prevalent, its hard to imagine that an ecosystem would go into even a mild chaos if they were extinct.

HOWEVER, we obviously are still learning a lot about ecosystem management, so it doesn't mean we should let them go extinct. They might play a more important role than we think, as the case may be for most animals in any ecosystem. Also, for me, it's like when people talk about people having to give up a local language or cultural identity on a level to conform to a larger movement. Sure, English might be the most practical language if everyone spoke it at this point, but it'd be depressing to wipe out peoples languages and rituals in the process. Such is the case with this. Its a part of the natural history on the island and losing it would be stripping the land of something that gives it individuality, even if we never find a functional value in them.

Sorry, there's my rant.