This American animal had never been seen in Europe until the Duke of
Bouillon procured one to be sent to him from America. As this prince
is curious in foreign animals, he has often done me the honour of
inviting me to see them; and he has even given me several species
for the advantage of this work. This animal (_fig. 161._) was sent
very young to him, and had not arrived at its full growth when the
cold killed it. It is not a hog, as naturalists and travellers have
pretended; it only resembles that animal by trifling marks, and differs
from it by striking characters. The largest cabiai is scarcely as
big as a hog of eighteen months growth. The head is shorter, and its
mouth less; the eyes are larger, the number and form of the teeth are
different, it wants a tail, and is web-footed; the hoofs before are
divided into four parts, and those behind into three; between the
divisions there is a prolongation of the skin, so that the feet, when
opened in swimming, can beat a greater surface of water in which it
frequently lives; it swims like an otter, seeks the same prey, and
seizes the fish with its feet and teeth, and carries them to the banks
to eat. It also eats fruits, corn, and sugar-canes. As its feet are
broad and flat it often sits upon its hind ones. Its cry more resembles
the braying of an ass than the grunting of a hog. It seldom stirs out
but at night, and almost always in company without going far from the
sides of the water. It can find no safety by flight, from the length
of its feet and the shortness of its legs. To escape its enemies it
plunges into the water, and remains at the bottom so long that the
hunters lose all hopes of seeing it again. It is fat, and the flesh is
tender, but, like that of the badger, it tastes more like bad fish than
good flesh; the head, however, is not bad, and this agrees with what is
said of the badger, his fore parts are pretty good, while his hind ones
taste like fish.
The cabiai is quiet and gentle; it is neither quarrelsome nor savage
with other animals. It is easily tamed, comes at call, and willingly
follows those who feed and treat it with kindness. It was fed at Paris
with barley, sallad, and fruit, and was healthy while the weather kept
warm. By its number of paps we should suppose that the females produce
several young at a litter. We do not know how long they go with young,
the time of their growth, nor, consequently, their length of life. The
natives, or colonists, of Cayenne might inform us of these particulars,
for it is very common in Guiana, as well as in Brasil, in Amazonia, and
in all the lower countries of South America.