 "P. aedium" and "P. hylaeum" have been greatly reduced in range and numbers and are threatened by deforestation, hunting, and predation by the introduced small Asian mongoose ("Herpestes auropunctatus").The human population of Hispaniola is increasing, most of the island's forest cover is being cleared for agriculture, and hutias are killed whenever encountered.The IUCN regards "P. hylaeum" as a subspecies of "P. aedium".