Something the shape of a giant guinea pig on the legs of a small deer bolts across the trail ahead. That is the agouti, and you will not get a second look.
Where you’ll see it
Forest floor and forest edges, more in the wetter reserves than the open dry coast, but gardens that back onto woodland see them. Always in daylight, usually alone or in pairs.
What to know
Agoutis eat fallen fruit and hard seeds, cracking nuts other animals cannot, and they bury surplus seeds for later. Many of those seeds are never collected and become trees, which makes the agouti one of the forest’s most important gardeners. It sits upright to eat, holding food in its front paws, and it is very fast when alarmed.
