Lowland Paca

Lowland Paca

The paca, also known as the Agouti paca or the lowland paca, is a large nocturnal rodent that lives in the tropical rain forest. Having a stout body covered with dark hair and four rows of white spots on each side of its body, this animal can weigh as much as 40 pounds and grow to a length of 32.5 inches. The paca also has large cheeks that help the animal make noises.

Pacas are frequently preyed on by other Amazon animals such jaguars. To avoid predators the paca uses its excellent swimming ability to flee danger. By foraging for food at night the paca attempts to make itself difficult for predators to stalk.

The pace lives in forested habitats near water, preferably smaller rivers, and digs simple burrows about six and a half feet below the surface, usually with more than one exit.

The paca is an incredible climber and searches for fruit in the trees. Its diet includes leaves, stems, roots, seeds, and fruit, especially avocados, mangos and zapotes.
This solitary-living rodents only gets with others of its kind during the mating season.

The Lowland Paca is considered an agricultural pest by farmers because it enjoys eating yams, cassava, sugar cane, corn and other food crops.

Because its meat has excellent flavor (I find it similar to fresh pork), the paca is hunted and its meat is sold at high prices.

Plentiful in protected habitats, hence not in danger of extinction, the overall paca population has decreased due to hunting and habitat destruction.

The paca is easily bred and raised on farms, although the taste of farm raised paca is thought to be highly inferior to flesh of a wild paca.

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