Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca)

This was my first mammal sighting in the Madidi National Park, and was very promising as this was just a few hundred metres after crossing the park’s border (the GPS coordinates are from a bit further upstream, as my camera did not have GPS lock here)!

That said, it seemed to be in very poor condition – covered with insect bites, horsefiles and extensive hair loss. But it was by no means wounded or weakened! As if a spring had been released, it ejected into the strong currents of the Beni River and begun swimming to the other side. Impressive, as the river is really wide!

When you look at the face and body of this animal you see how intense life can bee here, as these bloodsuckers are relentless! Perhaps only coincidence have determined that it would become such a bloodsucker’s favourite! Later on I saw that almost all birds had a halo of these insects – but none infested like this poor paca!

Lowland paca (Cuniculus paca)
From afar it’s quite hard to see the animal, as the color of the fur and the clay is just variations of the color brown.

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Recently updated on 29 July 2013