THE ANIMALS OF THE FOREST. 99 



fitted to it as the trees themselves. Nowhere, 

 perhaps, in the whole world are there so many 

 distinct forms of animal life as in South America. 

 Here is the home of the cavies, that family of 

 which the well-known but miscalled guinea-pig is 

 one of the smallest members. Living on the nuts 

 which strew the ground in such profusion, these 

 pretty creatures abound in the forest. Hidden 

 away in hollow logs or among the great tangle 

 of roots during the day, they come out at night 

 to nibble at the monkey-nuts and other seeds. 

 Then there is the tapir and two species of peccary, 

 which, like their cousins, the hogs, live almost 

 entirely on the seeds that are scattered so pro- 

 fusely below by the great forest giants. These 

 animals are also nocturnal in their habits, generally 

 hiding away in some dense tangle on the sand- 

 reef during the day. To prevent their settling 

 down too easily, nature has provided enemies in 

 the shape of that beautiful series of wild cats 

 which culminates in the jaguar or American tiger. 

 Like their cousins, so well known in civilised 

 countries, they are good climbers, can see well at 

 night, and often spring upon the luckless acouries 

 or labbas as they are quietly feeding. Now and 

 again one of them catches a peccary which has 

 strayed from the herd, but the wild hog has learnt 



