242 GNAWING ANIMALS 



CAP YEAR A (Hydrochcerus capybara}. 

 Coloured Plate XIII. Fig. 5. 



The Capybara, Carpincho, or Water-Hog is the largest 

 of the Rodents, attaining a length of three or four feet, 

 and possessing a very thick body, short legs, and long feet. 

 Its solidity is shown in its weight, for it often scales very 

 little short of a hundred pounds, or very nearly twice as 

 much as a very large beaver. 



This big Cavy is covered with long, brown, bristly hair ; 

 its tail is but the merest stump. It is found chiefly on 

 the banks of South American rivers, and its half-webbed 

 feet fit it for an aquatic life. It swims and dives well, 

 and, very much like the otter, it can catch fish to add to 

 its ordinary vegetable diet. The molar teeth of the 

 Capybara markedly resemble those of the elephant ; they 

 are of special service in pulping the vegetable food upon 

 which it feeds, so that the food will pass down its remark- 

 ably narrow gullet, which is so small that it will barely 

 allow the passage of a crow quill. 



The Capybaras frequently go about in herds of as many 

 as twenty, concealing themselves amid the reeds and 

 rushes that fringe the streams. When alarmed they take 

 to the water, only just showing the upper parts of their 

 heads. They are listless, almost stupid animals, and even 

 the female and its young of half a dozen indulge in no 

 sportive capers. The native Indians eat the flesh of the 

 Capybara, but it is the jaguar that keeps down the numbers 

 of the animal, which forms a large part of the ordinary 

 food of the ' American tiger.' 



Sub-Order 2. DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS 



FAMILY LEPORID^E (HARES AND RABBITS). 



HARE (Lepus Europceus). 

 Coloured Plate XIII. Fig. 6. 



The Common Hare, widely distributed in Europe, is 

 the largest and the most perfect type of the whole family. 



