I was so tired, still wiping the sleep from my weary eyes as I was trying my best to brew up a cup of tea as the stars disappeared from the night into the light of day. Flocks of parrots were already screaming overhead as they depart on their daily light with partners in motion heading south towards the coast. As the gas burner cooker brought the water to a boil that was required to insure that my black tea could absorb the squares of sugar and make it all a tolerable taste, I moved into my lone seat created by a Mennonite man who had delivered the chairs to compliment the table he delivered from the village of Pine Hill.

Settling into my morning routine as I do at around 6am under the thatch roof that defines my kitchen champa, I pulled my chair closer to the mahogany table. I was looking over some drawings focusing upon the task of yet another day in Belize. I knew the machete man that I employed would be arriving shortly to help with my vision as to where the trail network throughout my property needed to head. Climento Pop was his name and he was very good at taking my designs for the property and cutting them to suit the master plan.

As I was looking across the yard towards the garage champa in the direction from which Clemento would be arriving within the hour, I suddenly noticed a small furry animal slowly walking from the bush under thatch hut that houses my truck. It seemed to be in no particular rush whatsoever but in time the small animal disappeared back in the jungle on the other side. Moments later he popped out of another section of jungle and nonchalantly walked across the yard. Occasionally it would stop, look around at the clearing, then walked a little further. After several minutes it reach the other side of the clear cut and simply vanished into the thick bush.

It is one of the sheer joys of living in the jungles of Belize when you are fortunate to have a close encounter with a wild animal. You appreciate it for the naturalness of the event, and you have to realize you may never be so fortunate again. But that did not turn out to be the case with the small animal, for it began to appear each day and follow the exact same route, day after day. In time I was able to determine exactly what it was.

Referred to officially as Agouti Paca, the locals throughout Belize and Latin America called it a Paca or Gibnut. The Gibnut is a rodent with a reddish chestnut to dark brown coloured coat consisting of short tight fur. They usually have three to five horizontal stripes and spots along the sides of their bodies. The head is much larger in proportion to the rest of the body and is complimented by short rounded ears. The eyes are quite large and the upper jaw is prominent along the sides, while the lower jaw, throat and under belly are of a lighter brown colour. Adult males can reach a length of 65 to 82 cm, while the female adult is generally 60 to 70 cm. Both weigh in between 6 to 10 kg, but males can reach up to 12 kg.

The Gibnuts from feet have four toes while the rear hind feet have five. The extended paws are excellent for running through the jungle. Rightful so, since they are at odds with predators such as the Jaguar, ocelot, boas and man. The latter hunts them indiscriminately for their exquisite meat that is among the most favourite wild delicacy in Central and South America.

The nocturnal rodents are found in virgin or secondary forest from south eastern Mexico to Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, southern Brazil and Argentina where thy are referred to as Guantas. The main subspecies know as Agouti Paca Paca can also be found from Equador to the island of Trinidad. There are five recognized subspecies, two in Central America and three in South America.

Gibnuts live primarily in areas where water is in abundance, along riverbanks and streams. They make their homes in burrows in the holes of fallen trees or roots under the earth. The are known to be fast and agile, escaping from predators with great leaps until they are close to their hole or the water. Once in the water, they are very good swimmers. Their diet consists of tree fruits and seeds crops and leaves on the jungle floor. They apparently are not very selective in what they require for nourishment, for when fruit is scarce they can live off shoots and fallen leaves. The maximum life longevity is thought to be around twelve years in the wild.

The Gibnut remain mostly inactive during the day lounging about in the burrows. A night they come out to forage around the jungle floor in search of fruits and seeds. This is also when they are mostly hunted. Man hunts them usually along the rivers with lanterns from boats or canoes. When on land, sometimes dogs are used to locate the Gibnut in their burrow dens. Traps to are also employed because most hunters like to catch the small rodents alive. Because the price meat is so nutritional, it is served up in local communities as well as urban areas where it is often found on the menu of restaurants throughout Belize. With their very thin skin one usually prepares the animal for eating with the kin on. Most locals I spoke with say they scald the animal alive so the skin can be scraped off.

As for my furry Gibnut friend, well I have decided to let it remain free. I have not mentioned it’s regularly scheduled walk-thru at my place in fear that some of my neighbours might come looking for a free meal. And of course, with word as of late that there have several sightings of a jaguar in the area, I feel my Gibnut has enough to worry about as it is.