Cuniculidae – Pacas
Meet the pacas – large pig-like rodents with dots and stripes, short ears, and a barely visible tail
Pacas are nocturnal, with long whiskers that help them sense their environment while going down dark tunnels. They also have huge eyes perfectly adapted for seeing in the dark. Unlike many rodents, they mate for their life but, interestingly, stay in a separate den during the night. These rodents live in forests near water bodies where they dig deep burrows.
They often poop in streams which spreads their smell, so their natural predators have a hard time finding them. They are also known to eat their poop and pass it twice through their guts to get all the healthy nutrients.
