flashlight picturL 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. Note in the animal's mouth the mango, 

 which was used as bait. This is one of the game animals of the natives, who call it conejo 

 pintado, or spotted "rabbit." Its eyes glow at night (see page 179). 



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 



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 WAIFS OF GATUX LAKK 



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 191 1 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 



