50 



AGOUTI. 



well adapted for cutting, and their molar teeth for 

 bruising and grinding vegetable substances which 

 have a considerable degree both of hardness and of 

 toughness, yet both their food and their manner of 

 feeding are different from those of our hares and rab- 

 bits, which are the only European animals resembling 

 them in general character and in size. 



They are all inhabitants of the American conti- 

 nent, or its tropical islands ; and they may be said to 

 inhabit only those places which have a tropical cha- 

 racter ; for, though some of the species are found as 

 far southward as the Straits of Magellan, yet the 

 country there is much more tropical in its climate, its 

 seasons, its vegetables, and some other of its animals, 

 than the corresponding latitudes of Europe or of 

 North America ; and the agoutis are just as well 

 adapted to the more fertile of the comparatively dry 

 places of Central and Southern America, as hares are 

 to the fields of Europe, or squirrels to the Canadian 

 forests. 



When first taken possession of by Europeans, the 

 West India Islands, and all the more fertile parts of 

 South America, were literally overrun with these 

 animals ; they are still very numerous in all places 

 which are not settled and cultivated ; and in some 

 which are cultivated, their numbers are so great as 

 to give no little annoyance to the planters. They are 

 thus very characteristic of the country, much more so 

 than some other animals which are individually more 

 striking ; and therefore they are well worthy the 

 attention of every one who wishes to have a know- 

 ledge of that extensive and highly interesting portion 

 of the globe. 



Their generic characters, or those which distin- 

 guish them from those other genera which they most 

 nearly resemble, are : two cutting teeth and eight 

 grinders in each jaw, the latter far apart from the 

 former, all nearly of the same height, and much fur- 

 rowed on their grinding surfaces by irregular alter- 

 nations of bone and enamel ; the feet with four toes 

 on the fore and only three on the hind, all armed 

 with rather long, flat, and blunt claws ; the legs 

 rather short, and the fore ones shorter than the hind ; 

 the head roundish, but tapering to the muzzle ; the 

 ears of moderate height, erect, broad, and nearly 

 naked ; the eyes smaller and less prominent than in 

 the hares ; the tail short and naked, or a mere tuber- 

 cle ; the outline of the back arched, and that of the 

 belly nearly straight. The slow motion, rather an 

 awkward walk ; the quick one, jerking or leaping. 

 The hair on most of the species is coarse and bristly. 



The whole structure and aspect indicate an animal 

 which can make its way either through tall vegetation 

 or along the dry and naked ground, which are the 

 conditions of the places which these animals inhabit 

 in the two seasons of the tropical year, the rainy and 

 the dry. During the first of these there is plenty of 

 green food on the tropical plains, and in the, openings 

 of the woods ; but during the second, green vegetation 

 disappears from the surface, unless in places which are 

 rather humid for the agoutis. At that time, however, 

 there are an abundance of bulbous and other succulent 

 roots, either exposed on the surface, or situated at no 

 great depth below it ; and though the animals do not 

 form burrows for their habitations, their spade-like 

 claws, no doubt, assist them in getting at these. They 

 are, however, timid animals ; and, though numerous, 

 their habits are not very well known. It is not 

 ascertained how often they breed in the course of the 



year, or how many young they have in a litter ; but 

 they must breed rapidly, as they have many enemies, 

 and still are numerous. The cats and other beasts of 

 prey take many of them ; and they are eagerly sought 

 after, both by the Indians and the European inhabit- 

 ants, their flesh ranking nearly as high in that country 

 as that of hares and rabbits with us. They do not 

 afford sport as " chace" game ; but rather endeavour to 

 hide themselves from their pursuers ; and when they 

 are traced to their hiding-places, they utter a feeble 

 and wailing cry, and suft'er themselves to be taken 

 without making any resistance. 



They are, strictly speaking, "surface animals," which 

 neither dig to any depth, nor climb ; and, though they 

 can hold their food between their fore feet, using the 

 two something after the fashion of one hand, their 

 principal strength is in their hind legs, though it does 

 not appear that they use these, or indeed any part o 

 their bodies, for attacking other animals, or even for 

 the purpose qf self-defence. They sit upon their 

 hams, with the fore legs free, as well when they arc 

 eating as when at rest ; and when the vegetation is 

 tall, they clasp the stems between their fore-legs, and 

 so reach those parts which serve them for food ; but 

 it is in the gnawing of roots, especially those of the 

 sugar-cane, that they are most annoying to the plan- 

 ters. Though they resort to the plantations in great 

 numbers, they are not gregarious ; but inhabit indis- 

 criminately wherever the situation and food arc adapted 

 to their habits. There are, at least, four species. 



The Agouti (A. acuti) is the size of a hare, that is, 

 almost twenty inches long and a foot high. The ears 

 are round a*nd naked, the eyes rather large, the con- 

 tour of the head arched ; the upper jaw projecting, 

 with the lip cleft, and the nose considerably dilated. 

 The tail is very short and naked. The hair all over 

 its body is coarse and bristly, and about an inch in 

 length, while on the rump, or hinder part of the back, 

 it measures four inches. The elongated hair is bright 

 orange yellow, and inclined backwards ; the rest of the 

 upper part is mottled with paler yellow, brown, and 

 greenish black. The under part is pale yellow ; and 

 the feet and whiskers black. The range of this species 

 is considerable, being from the isthmus of Darien to 

 La Plata, and it is also found in several of the Indian 

 islands. 



The Slack Agouti is smaller in size, and has the hair 

 on the upper part nearly black, and the produced hair 

 on the rump entirely so. In form and habits it differs 

 little from the common species, and may be only a 

 variety. It also inhabits nearly the same places, only 

 it is more rare, and probably not so widely spread. It 

 appears to inhabit more dry and elevated places than 

 the other. That may have some influence upon its 

 colour ; for our cattle from the northern and elevated 

 moors are smaller in size than those of the low and 

 rich places ; and black, while these are generally dun, 

 brown, or similar colours, marked with white. 



The Acouchy (A. acuchi) is still smaller, lower on 

 the legs, rather more slender in the body, more 

 straight in the outline of the forehead, and more slen- 

 der and inclining to being pointed in the muzzle. The 

 whole body has something more of a weasel-shape ; 

 and there is a sort of tail, though a very slender and 

 nearly naked one. The hair is finer m its texture 

 that that of either of the species formerly mentioned ; 

 and in colour it is a sort of intermediate tint between 

 the two. The produced hair on the rump, which is pro- 

 portionably shorter than in the former species, is black; 



