The agouti is a rodent from Central and South America rain forests that looks a bit like a really large guinea pig. Its coarse hair is covered with an oily (and stinky!) substance that acts like a raincoat. It has five toes on its front feet and three on the hind feet. It walks on its toes, not flat-footed like many rodents, giving the agouti a dainty look. Find out more!

Much of this rodent’s time is spent searching for food or taking a dip in a pool of water. At rest, the agouti stays in a burrow or hollow tree trunk, safe from predators such as coatimundis, jaguars, and ocelots.

Fallen fruit is the agouti’s favorite food, with nuts a close second. Its sensitive ears can even hear when the fruit hits the ground! The agouti often eats upright, holding its food with the front feet, just like a squirrel.

When there’s lots of food, an agouti buries the extra portions around its territory for future meals. That keen nose helps the animal locate the food again in times of need.

An agouti pair-bonds with another agouti for life. After a three-month gestation period, one to four precocial babies are born in a nest of leaves, roots, and hair, looking just like miniatures of Mom and Dad. They can run just an hour after birth and usually stay with their parents until the next litter is born.