Staff members at the Cango Wildlife Ranch near Oudtshoorn were in a spin after a young and very agile Red-rumped Agouti escaped its new enclosure on the riverside over the Easter weekend.
The agouti is a South American animal that can be found in the Amazon.
Zoological manager, Craig Gouws told AlgoaFM News that they lost sight of the agouti on Sunday.
“We got her before the Covid-19 pandemic in the hope of raising awareness of the environmental challenges that the Amazon is facing. We planned to open an Amazon exhibit.”
Agoutis are keen jumpers and move quickly. They also have fur on their hindquarters.
Gouws says they looked everywhere and even asked the public’s assistance in case she had escaped the ranch.
“Luckily we found her on Monday afternoon snuggling by the pump station at another exhibit. clearly unaware of the stress she caused us.”
He says they have moved the agouti to a new more secure enclosure.
According to the Cango Wildlife Ranch, they are similar in appearance to Guinea pigs, only larger and with longer legs, Red Rumped Agoutis are members of the rodent family.
They have coarse, glossy fur that is typically brown, with orange to red fur on their rumps, and a little tail no longer than 6cm.
They are important seed dispersers for tropical plants in their native South American region, and they have a special relationship with the towering Brazil nut trees. These trees produce fruit or pods known as “cocos” that can weigh up to 2kg.
Agoutis have ever-growing chisel-like incisors and are one of the very few animals that can chew through the woody, coconut-like pods to get to the nearly two dozen nuts inside.
After eating their fill, agoutis bury extra nuts to eat later. Forgotten nuts and seeds will germinate and grow into new trees.
Without agoutis to disperse seeds, Brazil nut trees, which provide shelter to countless species, will disappear.
