Ethnoecology, Resource Use, Conservation And Development In A ...

6.3.5 Red-rumped agouti, ‘rabbit’.
There was a clear consensus on the broad aspects of diet. Eleven of the twelve
interviewees mentioned seeds as a major dietary component, four also mentioned
fruits and two of these also volunteered that the legs of young yellow-footed
tortoises (Geocheleone denticulata) are sometimes bitten off and eaten. All twelve
interviewees mentioned crop-raiding, and many gave lists of crops consumed: most
commonly mentioned were cassava roots and sweet potato, while yam, peanuts, corn
and beans were also mentioned more than once. In specifying the most important
foods, four interviewees mentioned the seeds and fruits of pokoridi (Attalea regia).
Tokoro (Licania spp.) and naata (Hymenaea oblongata) once. Five interviewees
considered there to be a seasonal food shortage, and those who were specific said
this was in the dry season. However, a further five, in contradicting this, made
reference to strategies for ensuring a supply of food during the dry season. Among
these, three mentioned farm raiding, while another two suggested that they return to
sites where they have previously eaten fruits, in order to eat seeds left behind on the
occasion of these earlier feeding visits. Six interviewees mentioned the strategy of
burying caches of seeds as dry season food stores, and of these four said a single
species, tokoro, was stored in this way. Only one interviewee gave an indication that
he considered this to be a possible means by which seeds of this species were
dispersed. Otherwise, the relationship between agouti and seeds was universally
considered a predatory one.
Collectively, interviewees indicated the use of a broad range of habitats. Four
stated that all (terrestrial) habitat types found locally are used: three of these and
one other mentioned that they are found on the savannah in bush islands and riparian
forest. Three informants suggested that agoutis are most common in the farming
area, and a fourth corroborated this by saying they were most common near the bush
mouth. Answers on ranging behaviour were contradictory: four interviewees
considered them errant, although two of these mentioned that a mother with young
will temporarily stay in one place, while five others considered fixed home ranges to
be occupied.
All ten who gave information about diurnal activity patterns agreed that agoutis
are active during the daytime. Four of these further stated they could, on occasion,
also be active at night. All eleven interviewees who considered the subject of resting
places indicated that holes were used for this purpose, and seven specified either
holes in the ground, in rotten tree trunks, or both. The use of spaces beneath tree
roots and beneath fallen trees, were each mentioned by a single person.