Found: A Long-Lost Furry Friend
Last week, scientists in Cuba spotted an animal few people have ever seen. It was an almiqui (al-mee-kee), a mammal that looks like a big, brown rat with a long snout and a scaly tail. Only 37 almiquis have ever been caught. Scientists named this little critter Alejandrito. A German nature lover named Wilham Peters, who was visiting Cuba in 1861, was the first to capture an almiqui.
It's no wonder so few have been found since then. The furry mammal is nocturnal. It stays underground during the daytime and comes up to eat worms and insects only when the sun goes down. Some scientists thought the almiqui might be extinct because none had been found since 1999.
After scientists caught Alejandrito, they did tests on it for two days. Then they set it free to look for worms and to live its life in peace.
 October 3, 2003 World Report
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