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Today on Animal Fact Files we’re talking about agoutis. Subscribe for cute rodents, and thank you to Shani Dee for today’s request. Agoutis are rodents found in Central and South America. They enjoy forest habitats, but can also be found in more open areas like scrublands, mountainous areas, as well as gardens and agricultural areas. The agouti’s habit of visiting agricultural sites has earned them the label of pests, but they’re actually pretty important.

Agoutis are typically diurnal and they spend their days eating. Their main source of food are fruits though they’ll also takes nuts and mushrooms. Agoutis are the only animals capable of breaking open the hard outer shell of brazil nuts because of their strong, twisted teeth. Agoutis are rodents, so their incisors continuously grow throughout their lifetime. An agouti’s incisors have spiralled enamel which makes their teeth stronger, thus allowing these rodents to break into brazil nuts.

Agoutis will also store food for later in the ground, and when they don’t return to eat that food at a later date, the planted seeds and nuts may sprout into trees! This is why agoutis are important. In the case of some plants, agoutis are some of the only means of their dispersal, which means agoutis are vital to the growth of the forests and rainforests in which they live.

Agoutis are terrestrial animals and spend their nights in natural burrows, tree hallows, and under fallen logs. They use these areas as a safe place to hide from predators, as well. Agoutis are one of the main food sources for ocelots, and they also act as a meal for jaguars, cougars, snakes, hawks, and more. If they are attacked, agoutis can jump six feet (1.8 meters) straight into the air, twist, and run away in a different direction.

Agoutis look similar to capybaras, and they’re distantly related to guinea pigs. In terms of taxonomic family, agoutis share theirs with the nearly identical but much smaller acouchi. There are other similar looking animals called pacas who look like they would definitely be related to agoutis, though they aren’t from the same family. Pacas were once classified in the genus agouti to which agoutis did not belong, which lead to even more confusion about the relationship of these two animals, but pacas are in a now differently named genus than the agoutis we’re discussing today.

There are approximately a dozen species of agoutis and they can reach more than two feet (61 centimeters) in length and more than ten pounds (4.5kg) in weight. That means they’re close to the size of Chester! Though both agoutis and Chester are small enough that they could easily ride together on the back of the world’s largest living rodents. Agoutis have skinny legs with hoof-like claws, a tiny, bald tail, and are covered in coarse hair that gets longer towards their large rump. Agouti? More like abooty amiright? When threatened, agoutis will raise this longer hair on their rumps to appear larger and more intimidating to predators. Also, the hair strands are banded, and the name for this trait in fur is agouti!

Agoutis travel alone, in mated pairs, or in small family groups - sometimes depending on the season, sometimes depending on the species. In general, agoutis are monogamous and will stay with the same partner unless one of the pair dies. Mating typically occurs in the drier months so that babies will be born as vegetation begins to flourish. It takes three months for a mother agouti to gestate and she’ll give birth to an average of two babies.

Agoutis are able to run as early as an hour after birth! By five months of age they are independent, though they may stay within their parent’s territory until the next litter is born. Agoutis may be able to live longer than a decade.

For more facts on agoutis, check out the links in the description. Give a thumbs up if you learned something new today, and thank you for watching Animal Fact Files.