754 



C A V Y. 



the alligator, when they arc in the water ; but that 

 formidable reptile does not attack any animal on 

 land ; and Hutnboldt saw numerous flocks of cavies 

 sitting 1 with the greatest composure on their hams, 

 while a large crocodile passed through the middle of 

 them. When alarmed they take to the water, in 

 which they swim and dive with great dexterity, and 

 they can remain below the surface for eight or ten 

 minutes, rising at a great distance from the place at 

 which they disappear. It is said that they catch fish, 

 which mav be true, though it does not accord 

 very well with analogy. Their flesh is eatable, and 

 they are sought after with considerable avidity in 

 some parts of America, though there is a rankness 

 about them which is not pleasant to Europeans. 

 From their aquatic habits the catholics, at least in 

 some places, regard them as a sort of fish, and on 

 that account allow them to be eaten on meagre days. 

 These animals are tamed very readily, are gentle in 

 confinement, and soon learn to come at a call, or 

 follow those who are kind them; but their slow 

 motion, their aquatic habits, and a rather offensive 

 smell which they emit, cause them to be but little 

 esteemed. 



The Cobaya or Aneema. This is the animal which 

 is so familiar in Europe under the name of guinea 

 j)ig, but that name is doubly absurd, first, because the 

 animal is not a native of Guinea, and secondly, be- 

 cause it does not belong to the same genus, or even 

 the same order as the pigs. It differs from the former 

 as being much smaller in size, in having the toes 

 without connecting webs, in having the grinders com- 

 posed of a simple lamina, with one formed on the 



Cobaya. 



outside of the upper jaw, and one forked on the inside 

 of the lower jaw. This animal is much better known 

 in a domestic than in a wild state ; and indeed there 

 is some doubt, or at least some obscurity as to the 

 original stock. When domesticated it is so liable to 

 diversity of colouring, that scarcely any two indivi- 

 duals exactly agree in this respect. Some are almost 

 entirely white, others spotted with black and fawn 

 colour, with yellow, tawny, &c. The body is short 

 and thicker than that of the rabbit ; the neck is not 

 distinguishable from the head and trunk ; the ears which 

 are large, naked, and transparent, are in a great mea- 

 sure concealed by the hairs on the upper part of the 

 head ; the eyes are round, large, and prominent ; the 

 head and nose resemble those of the hare and rabbit ; 

 the teeth are similar to those of the rat, but they are 

 placed obliquely outwards in the upper, and obliquely 

 inwards in the lower jaw; and the hair is long, hard, 

 and smooth. 



As these animals are easily domesticated, and as 

 they bear the climate of Europe very well, their man- 

 ners in a captive state are easily studied. They are 



even said to have one domestic use, rats dislike the' 

 smell of them, and do not remain in the same house. 

 Among the most remarkable of the characters of this 

 animal, may be recorded its precocity and fertility ; 

 for though it attains not its full growth till eight or 

 nine months, it is capable of propagating in h've or 

 six weeks after birth. The female goes only three 

 w eeks with young ; her first litter consists of four or 

 five, her second of five or six, and her subsequent 

 ones of seven or eight, or even sometimes of ten or 

 eleven. The dam gives suck only for twelve or 

 fifteen days, and chases away her young if they 

 remain longer by her, or if they prove refractory, she 

 permits the male to abuse and kill them. Her parental, 

 attachment indeed seems to be much weaker than in 

 most other species ; for she will often suffer her young 

 to be taken from her, and even devoured as soon as 

 they are born, without betraying the least concern. 

 As she breeds once in the two months, it has been 

 calculated that a single couple may prove the source 

 of one thousand individuals in the course of a year. 

 To check this excessive fecundity, nature has pro- 

 vided that many of them should fall a sacrifice to 

 cold and moisture^ to the feeble and short-lived affec- 

 tion of their parents, to their quarrels with one 

 another, and to their incapacity of defending them- 

 selves against cats and other beasts of prey. Their 

 life is almost an incessant round of eating, sleeping, 

 and reproducing their kind. Buffon asserts, that 

 though they never drink they frequently urinate : but 

 this is not strictly correct, for they are very fond of 

 milk, and, in default of it, have recourse to water. 

 They readily feed on all sorts of herbs, but prefer 

 parsley and the tops of carrots even to bread or flour. 

 They are also very fond of apples and other fruits. 

 They eat precipitately like rabbits, and very often, 

 but little at a time. Their usual cry resembles the 

 grunting of a young pig; but they also express 

 pleasure or pain by appropriate sounds. They are 

 very susceptible of cold, and will press together to 

 avoid its effects. Though naturally tame and gentle 

 in their deportment, they are incapable of strong 

 attachment. They affect dark and intricate retreats, 

 and seldom venture out of concealment when danger 

 is at hand. They are at great pains to keep them- 

 selves and one another clean, frequently licking and 

 smoothing their own and neighbour's fur. With 

 scarcely sufficient courage to defend themselves 

 against the attacks of a mouse, their animosities 

 against those of their own species are obstinate and 

 violent, and generally originate in a desire of possess- 

 ing the warmest corner, or the most agreeable food. 

 Their mode of fighting is very singular, for one of 

 them seizing the neck of its antagonist with its teeth, 

 attempts to tear of the hair, while the other turns its 

 posteriors to the aggressor, kicks up behind like a 

 horse, and scratches his rival's flanks to the effusion 

 of blood. The only battles which 'hey fight are, 

 however, battles of gallantry, or at least with one 

 another ; for they may be taken and even killed with- 

 out offering any resistance, farther than very feeble 

 attempts at escape. 



Though the origin of the guinea pig, as now do- 

 mesticated in Europe, is not known, there seems little 

 doubt, that is the opera or wild guinea pig, which is 

 found in the dry and rocky parts of Brazil and Para- 

 guay. This animal is of the same size, has the same 

 general characters, and only differs from the tame 

 one in colour. It is reddish grey, or hare colour, on 



