Pacas: Agoutidae

Pacas are nocturnal, meaning that they are most active at night, and solitary animals. In the wild, they have sometimes been seen active in the early morning and late afternoon. During the day, they sleep in a den dug under tree roots or rock outcroppings, or in hollows in trees, usually along riverbanks or hillsides. The den usually has several entrances or exits concealed by leaves.

Pacas are capable swimmers and when they feel threatened, take to the water where they can remain submerged for up to fifteen minutes. They have an acute sense of smell and hearing. They walk along fixed trails, but should a trail become disturbed by humans or other animals, they will abandon it.

Pacas breed year-round. Females are sexually mature, able to mate, at nine months, while males are sexually mature at one year. The gestation, or pregnancy, period is 114 to 119 days. Females have one or two litters of young a year, each usually with one baby but in rare instances, two babies.