FLASHLIGHT PICTURE OF PACA (Agouti paca virgata) 
One of the largest of the existing rodents, the closely related capybara alone exceeding 
it in size. The paca is an animal of nocturnal habits, and therefore can be photographed 
only by means of flashlight apparatus set at night. 
This is one of the game animals of the natives, who call it conejo 
Its eyes glow at night (see page 179). 
which was used as bait. 
pintado, or spotted “rabbit.” 
ticed and they proved a great annoyance 
when bathing, as they had the habit of 
nipping a swimmer severely and could 
only be kept away by a vigorous commo- 
tion in the water. In its transient con- 
dition this lake should prove of scientific 
interest to the fish culturist, and presents 
a possibility of introducing many varie- 
ties of fish that would soon become of 
value commercially or to the visiting 
sportsmen. 
It may be of interest to note that the 
southern range of the migratory wild 
fowl does not extend to Panama, for 
aside from two varieties of ducks—the 
blue-wing teal and the lesser scaup—no 
geese, brant, swans, or any of the other 
numerous varieties of ducks were seen 
by us or noted by careful resident ob- 
servers, indicating that the Federal Mi- 
gratory Bird Law, which has so effect- 
ively prohibited spring shooting in the 
Note in the animal’s mouth the mango, 
States during the nesting flight, need 
only be supplemented by a treaty with 
Canada and Mexico in order to cover the 
extreme range of these valuable and rap- 
idly vanishing birds. A pending treaty, 
protecting fish in international waters, 
involves the same Federal supervision. 
TWO WAITFS OF GATUN LAKE 
For centuries the valleys now occu- 
pied by Gatun Lake had been the home 
or feeding places of many wild animals, 
especially the tapir and deer. In the fall 
of roit the rising waters began driving 
the several species of deer from the bot- 
tom lands, where the thickets and more 
tender vegetation had afforded the best 
of shelter and of food. Some sought 
ridges and other near-by elevations, un- 
aware that in a few months these refuges 
would become isolated as islands or 
wholly submerged by the rising lake. 
169 
