364 



THE RODENTS OR GNAWING ANIMALS. 



Natiue Country The Paca is distributed over the 

 of the greater part of South America, from 



Paca. Surinam in Dutch Guiana through- 



out Brazil to Paraguay, and is also found among the 

 West Indies on the southern Antilles. The lonelier 

 and wilder the locality the more abundantly is it 

 found; in all cultivated regions its numbers have 

 been greatly reduced. It delights in the edges of 

 forests, wooded banks of rivers or swampy places. 

 There it scoops out a burrow from three to six feet 

 deep and spends the day in it sleeping. At dusk it 

 goes out in quest of food, paying an occasional visit 

 to sugar cane and melon plantations, in which it 

 does considerable damage. At other times it feeds 

 on leaves, flowers and the fruits of various plants. 

 It lives either in couples or singly. The female 

 gives birth to one or at the most two young in the 



THE FAGA. This is the representative of a distinct sub-family among the Cavies. It is a forest animal, 



preferring damp localities, and a male and female usually live together.so that the picture appropriately shows two of 

 the species. The tail is lacking, the head thick and the coarse hair is marked by five rows of spots as shown in the 

 picture. {Cxlogenys paca.) 



middle of the summer; while they suckle she keeps 

 them hidden in the burrow and even after they are 

 weaned she keeps them near her for a few months 

 longer. ^ 



In Brazil the Paca is the commonest forest game 

 except Agoutis and various species of Armadillos. 

 Prince von Wied often caught it in traps in the for- 

 ests. It is also hunted with hounds and brought to 

 market as " royal game." There is no possibility of 

 taking it in its burrow, but if the huntsman atten- 

 tively examines the edge of plantations, he will 

 soon notice the tracks of the animal under the close 

 hedges of reed grass. There the sportsman puts 

 out his noose, baited with an ear of corn, and the 

 next morning he will usually find his trouble well 

 repaid. The Paca is the best game animal of 

 Brazil, probably being surpassed by no other in 

 point of flavor and tenderness. The skin is so thin 



and tender that it is not pulled off, the entire ani- 

 mal being scalded like a Pig. A Paca prepared ia 

 this way and having its head and feet cut off, looks- 

 strikingly like a young Pig. According to Kappler 

 a hunted Paca which can not reach its hole some- 

 times jumps into water, where it dives and remains 

 submerged until its pursuer has withdrawn; he sup- 

 poses that it swims off under the surface. 



The Paca Of late years the animal has been 

 Well Known to carried to Europe quite frequently. 

 Naturalists. Buffon had a female Paca, which was 

 quite tame; it took up its abode behind the stove, 

 slept during the day and ran about at night, and 

 when it was shut up in a box, it at once began to 

 gnaw. It licked the hands of friends and allowed 

 them to pet it, stretching itself and signifying its 

 pleasure by a low-voiced, faint sound. Strangers, 



children and Dogs it 

 tried to bite. When 

 angry, it grunted and 

 gnashed its teeth in a- 

 quite ferocious manner. 

 It was so little sensitive- 

 to cold, that Buffon be- 

 lieved it could be intro- 

 duced into and bred in. 

 Europe. It is contented 

 with very few comfortSf 

 and requires neither spe- 

 cially good food nor a 

 well-equipped stable. I 

 must agree with Buffoa 

 in regard to its hardi- 

 hood in enduring cold; 

 but I do not think that 

 it would be profitable tO' 

 transplant it to Europe, 



THE WATER PIG 

 OR CAPYBARA. 



The Water Pig or 

 Capybara {Hydrochaerus 

 capybard) may be consid- 

 ered the most remark- 

 able of Rodents in one 

 respect; it is the largest 

 and clumsiest member 

 of the whole order. It 

 justifies its name, for its 

 shape and bristle -like 

 pelt remind one quite 

 forcibly of a Pig. Its dis- 

 tinguishing features are, 

 small ears, cleft upper lip, absence of a tail, short 

 webs between the toes and strong hoof-like nails, 

 as well as a very peculiar dentition. The incisors or 

 gnawing teeth are of gigantic proportions, and are at 

 least four-fifths of an inch wide, not very thick and 

 characterized by several shallow grooves on their 

 front faces; among the molars, the rearmost one is as 

 large as the three preceding. The body is strikingly 

 clumsy and thick, the neck is short, the head oblong, 

 deep through from the upper to the lower sur- 

 face, broad, blunt-muzzled and exhibits a peculiat; 

 appearance. The tolerably large, roundish eyes are 

 quite prominent; the ears are rounded at their upper 

 ends, the front edges being turned over and the 

 backs abrupt. The hind legs are much longer than 

 the fore pair, the fore-feet are four-toed, the hind-feet 

 three-toed. No particular coloring can be ascribed 

 to the thin, coarse fur; an undecided brown with ^ 



