146 THE AGOUTI. 
Antilles, where it formerly swarmed, it is now nearly extirpated, and in St. 
Domingo is but rarely seen. 
All its movements are sharp, quick, and active, and even while sitting 
upright and engaged in feeding itself by the assistance of its fore-paws, its 
head is continually being turned from side to side, and its bright eyes glance 
in every direction in order to guard against a surprise. As it is a nocturnal 
animal, and spends the whole of 
the day in its dark hiding-place, its 
ravages take place under cover of 
night, and are the more difficult 
to be repelled. Its usual resting 
place is in the cleft of a rock, or 
in the hollow of some decaying tree, 
where twenty or thirty cf these 
animals may be found living ami- 
cably together. 
AGOUTI.—(Dasyprocta Agouti.) In these dark recesses the young 
Agoutis are born, and are laid 
upon a soft bed of leaves, where they remain for a few weeks, and then sally 
out with their parents on their nocturnal expedition. There are generally 
two broods in each year, and the number of young at a birth is from three 
iO Six. 
The name Dasyprocta, which has been given to the genus, refers to the thick 
hair which falls over the hind quarters, and nearly conceals the little pointed 
stump ofa tail. The hair of this part of the body is a bright golden brown, 
but on the back and sides the fur has a curious speckled aspect, on account 
of the black, brown, and yellow tints with which each hair is marked.. On 
the greater part of the body the fur is only about one inch in length, but the 
golden brown hair of the hinder parts is more than four inches long. In 
character it is coarse, though glossy. 
THE CAPYBARA is a native of tropical America, and is by far the largest 
of all the living rodent animals, rather exceeding three feet in total length, 
and being ‘so bulkily made that when it walks its abdomen nearly touches the 
ground. The muzzle of this animal is heavy and blunt, the eyes are set high 
in the head and are moderate in 
size, the tail is wanting, and the 
toes are partially connected to- 
gether by a development of the 
skin. The colour of the Capybara 
is rather indeterminate, owing to 
the manner in which the hairs are 
marked with black and yellow, so 
that the general idea which its coat 
: presents is a dingy, blackish grey, 
CAPYBARA.—(Hydrocherus Capybdra.) with a tinge of yellow. : 
It is a water-loving animal, using 
its webbed feet with great power, and fleeing instinctively to the stream when 
terrified by real or imaginary danger. It not only swims well, but is a good 
diver ; and when endeavouring to escape from a foe, always tries to evade 
its pursuer by diving as long as its breath will hold out, and only permitting 
the top of its head to appear above the surface when it rises for the purpose 
of respiration. As, however, it can remain under water for a space of eight 
or ten minutes, it finds no difficulty in escaping from any ordinary foe, if 
it can only gain the shelter of the welcome stream. The food of this 
animal is exclusively vegetable, and its curious teeth are needed in order 
Oe SS RH 
