Our former description of the Paca was taken from a young one which had
not nearly come to its full growth. Since then I have had one sent me,
which was much bigger even when he arrived, and continued to grow while
I kept him, namely from August 1774, to May 28, 1775. From the Sieur
Trécourt I received an account of his natural habits, in which that
gentleman says: "This animal remains perfectly quiet in the day, if he
is provided with a wooden cage, or box, and has plenty of provisions,
to which he readily retires of himself while the day continues, but
as soon as night comes on he becomes in a perpetual agitation to get
out, and will even use violent efforts to effect that purpose if he
is fastened in; this he never attempts during the day, unless pressed
to make some natural evacuation, in which case he always gets to the
furthest corner, having an aversion to any kind of dirt in the place
he lives in; even his straw he pushes out with his nose when it begins
to smell, and will seek about for rags, or paper, to supply its place.
He had no particular attachment to his box, for he would often forsake
it for some obscure corner, and when once his bed was made, he could
only be made to leave his new habitation by force. This animal, which
was a female, gave a strong proof of her propensity to cleanliness,
for a large male rabbit being put with her when she was in season, she
received him with a degree of fondness, and something was expected
from them; she would lick his nose, ears, and body, and even suffer
him to take away the greatest part of her food; but upon voiding his
excrement, in their common apartment, she immediately took an aversion
to him, and retired to the bottom of an old press, making herself a bed
with paper and rags, nor would she return to her house again, until she
perceived it was cleared of the dirt and her filthy companion."
The Paca very easily becomes domesticated, and is very gentle and
tractable, unless when much irritated. He is very fond of being
noticed, and will lick the hands of those who caress him; he very
readily distinguishes the voices of those who take care of him, and
when stroked on the back, he will lie down on his belly, stretch
himself out, and, with a gentle cry, express his gratitude for the
favour, and seem to ask a continuance; but if laid hold of in a rough
manner, he will struggle violently to escape. His muscles are very
strong, yet his feeling is so delicate that the slightest touch on
the skin will excite in him the most sensible emotions; and which
sensibility, though commonly producing good humour, will sometimes,
by irritation, or presenting an offensive object, put him in the most
violent passion. A strange dog invariably produces the latter effect;
and he has been observed, when shut in his cage, to make violent
efforts to get out upon the appearance of one. It was at first thought
he had no desire to come out but upon natural occasions; but one day,
when he was at liberty, he flew out upon a poor dog, and bit him very
severely; but in a few days after he became perfectly familiar with
the same dog. He will also fly at strangers, if they plague him, but
he never offers to bite those by whom he is taken care of. He has a
dislike to children, and will run after them; and when in a passion he
makes a kind of grunting, and at the same time a chattering with his
teeth. He very frequently sits for a considerable time together on his
posteriors, and has a common practice of appearing to comb his head
and whiskers with his paws, which he repeatedly licks with his tongue.
When thus employed, he scratches all parts of his body which he can
reach with his fore paws, and afterwards the remainder with his hind
ones. He is, however, a gross animal; he does not appear delicate;
his coat is not smooth; he is far from active, but moves heavily and
somewhat like a hog; whom he also resembles by the whiteness and
thickness of his skin; he seldom attempts to run, and when he does, it
is very aukwardly.
This animal, though not full grown, measured more than eighteen
inches from the point of his nose to the extremity of his body, and
he could stretch himself out to near two feet, while the one which I
formerly described was not more than seven inches five lines, and this
difference was evidently to be attributed to their ages, as in all
other respects they were perfectly similar.
This animal measured about seven inches high before, and nine and a
half behind, by which his head always appeared lower than his hind
parts: his head is five inches long, and rather convex; he has large
brown eyes, two inches asunder, short round ears, covered with a fine
down, a broad black nose, divided like that of a hare, very large
nostrils, and in which he has great strength; the upper jaw comes out
above an inch beyond the lower; he has a fold along them that may at
first sight be taken for the mouth, but which is scarcely perceptible
unless it is open; he has two large yellow teeth in each jaw, with
which he can cut through wood, and I have known him make a hole in
a plank in a single night through which he could put his head; but,
although several times attempted, he would never permit us to count his
grinders; he has a thick rough tongue, and whiskers on each side his
nose, consisting of black and white hairs; he has five toes on each
foot, and long claws on them, of a flesh colour; and his tail is merely
a kind of button, does not exceed five lines in length, and requires a
close inspection to discover it.
The paca, when domesticated, will eat any thing that is given him, and
if fed with bread he seems to have an equal relish for it, whether
soaked in water, wine, or vinegar; he is extremely fond of sugar and
fruits, and will leap about for joy when they are given him; he seems
to have the same relish for grapes, celery, onions, or garlic; he will
also eat grass, moss, the bark of trees, or even wood; he drinks like
a dog; his urine has a disagreeable smell, and his excrements are like
those of the rabbit.
As there can be little doubt but these animals would produce in the
climates of France; as they are easily tamed, and their flesh is
excellent food, they might be rendered an advantageous acquisition,
especially as one individual would be equal to seven or eight rabbits,
and their flesh not inferior.
M. de la Borde agrees with most of the foregoing particulars, and says
also that the paca generally has his hole on the banks of rivers, and
that he so forms it as to have three ways to enter or retreat; that
when disturbed he takes to the water, and endeavours to effectuate his
escape by diving frequently, and that he makes a stout defence when
attacked by dogs.