Save the Royal Rat

The paca, known as gibnut in Belize, is a nocturnal rodent feeding on fallen fruits, leaves and cohune nuts that is primarily found in rainforests, by mangrove swamps and streams, its habitat extending from South Mexico to Argentina. The gibnut is the most prized game animal in Belize and now in danger of extinction.

In the heart of Belize's jungle, situated in Cayo, the Gibnut Rearing Facility has been breeding the royal rat for five years, now having about 20 of them in captivity. In an attempt to keep reproducing them and protecting them from hunting, they would release the males progressively in the wild, retaining only one male and the females, which give birth from one to two cubs at most a year. Reproduction is slow but Gibnuts caretakers are hopeful : "Many of these animals are found in protected areas where hunters don't go since they can still hunt for them in many other areas in Belize. Even if these species have been hunted to extinction in most of Central America, it is a problem that we have anticipated here and that's why we have already started a conservation process."