Project Noah Nature Class Video to learn all about Agoutis!
Video Script: Agoutis are rodents that belong to the genus Dasyprocta. Related to guinea pigs, they have a range that includes Central America, South America and West Africa. Agouti’s preferred habitat includes rainforests, savannas, wooded areas and cultivated fields. This agouti was spotted in the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. Agoutis eat fruit, nuts, leaves, roots, the eggs of ground-nesting birds and even shellfish. Fallen fruit is their favorite food. They will often bury nuts to store for future meals - and in so doing, unwittingly help to disperse seeds throughout the rainforest! These rodents will often turn a hollow tree trunk or burrow into their home for shelter and protection. When they are out foraging for fruit, agoutis must be quite careful as they have many predators in the ecosystem: ocelots, jaguars, snakes, harpy eagles and other large birds-of-prey are among their predators.