July, 1892 . 
THE NATURALIST IN LA PLATA. 
149 
ears shorter and more rounded, and legs relatively much 
longer. The fur is grey and chestnut brown. It is diurnal in 
its habits, lives in kennels, and is usually met with in pairs, or 
small flocks. It is better suited to a sterile country like 
Patagonia than to the grassy humid plain ; nevertheless it 
was found throughout the whole of the pampas; but in a 
country where the wisdom of a Sir William Harcourt was 
never needed to slip the leash, this king of the Rodentia 
is now nearly extinct. 
“A common rodent is the coypii [Myiopotamus coypu), a 
brown animal with bright red incisors ; a rat in shape, and as* 
large as an otter. It is aquatic, lives in holes in the 
banks, and where there are no banks it makes a platform nest 
among the rushes. Of an evening they are all out swimming 
and playing in the water, conversing together in their strange 
tones, which sound like the moans and cries of wounded and 
suffering men; and among them the mother-coypu is seen 
with her progeny, numbering eight or nine, with as many on 
her back as she can accommodate, while the others swim after 
her, crying for a ride. 
“With reference to this animal, which, as we have seen, is 
prolific, a strange thing once happened in Buenos Ayres. 
The coypu was much more abundant fifty years ago than 
now, and its skin, which has a fine fur under the long coarse 
hair, was largely exported to Europe. About that time the 
Dictator Rosas issued a decree which made the killing of a 
coypu a criminal offence. The result was that the animals 
increased and multiplied exceedingly, and, abandoning then- 
aquatic habits, they became terrestrial and migratory, and 
swarmed everywhere in search of food. Suddenly a mysterious 
malady fell on them, from which they quickly perished, and 
became almost extinct. 
“ What a blessed thing it would be for poor rabbit-worried 
Australia if a similar plague should visit that country, and 
fall on the right animal! On the other hand, what a calamity 
if the infection, widespread, incurable, and swift as the wind 
in its course, should attack the too-numerous sheep ! And 
who knows what mysterious, unheard-of retributions that 
revengeful deity Nature may not be meditating in her secret 
heart for the loss of her wild four-footed children slain by 
settlers, and the spoiling of her ancient beautiful order! ” 
Here are some interesting particulars about “ the puma, 
or lion, of America.” “ It does not attack man, and Azara 
is perfectly correct when he affirms that it never hurts, or 
threatens to hurt, man or child, even when it finds them 
sleeping. This, however, is not a full statement of the facts; 
the puma will not even defend itself against man. How 
