260 GNAWING ANIMALS 



by dogs. The Capybaras fed and flourished in the tall grass 

 along the banks of the Orinoco and its southern tributaries. 

 The dogs ran along the shores and drove the game into the 

 water, where it was immediately pursued by the members 

 of our party. It was like hunting the sea-otter — chasing 

 the victim and compelling it to dive, and keep diving, until 

 so exhausted that it could be approached by a canoe near 

 enough to be harpooned with a tiny harpoon, and hauled 

 alongside. Our Venezuelan friends carefully preserved and 

 dried all the flesh — all of it that the ever-hungry hunters 

 did not consume on the spot. 



The Capybara dives and swims remarkably well. But 

 for that ability, it could not have survived in South America 

 until this period. It has splay feet that make excellent pad- 

 dles, and its hair, instead of being thick and impossible in 

 water, is very thin and very coarse and absorbs no water. 

 It is fair to suppose that the heavily haired Capybaras were 

 easily exterminated by their enemies of the land and water. 



In form and in size the Capybara suggests a species of 

 wild swine, but it is the largest of all the members of the 

 Order Rodentia, or Glires. Its head is large, thick, blunt on 

 the end of the muzzle, as becomes a rodent, and its upper 

 body line sweeps backward and downward in a perfect semi- 

 circle from the saddle to the tendon of Achilles, without any 

 visible tail to break the line. An adult male specimen 

 stands 21 inches high at the shoulders, measures 46 inches in 

 total length, and weighs 105 pounds. 



Of course this animal is a strict vegetarian. In disposi- 

 tion it is not only good-natured, but even affectionate and 



