Agoutis are hare sized rodents that live in forests and burrow in leaf litter. I want one! Actually, I want several to breed and eat my kitchen scraps.
Ticos consider agouti meat to be tasty, so they have been hunted relentlessly and driven out of many areas in Costa Rica. I would like to have farmers raise them as an alternative to cattle or pigs. They breed like rabbits (literally) and can be raised in forests so that land doesn't need to be clear-cut as it does for cows.
Sadly, this is not my picture. I didn't have my camera with me at the time. A good thing, too because we were caught in a monsoon and got soaked to the bone!
If you'd like to read more about agoutis and their agricultural potential you can do so here!
1 comment:
The first time I heard about agouti was when I doing some consulting in Benin, West Africa, back in the early 90s. A team of us went there to work on getting the nation wired to the emerging internet. At one point we were in rural village and went to a little restaurant for dinner. I stuck with my typical rice and steamed veggies, but my buddies wanted meat. Some ordered chicken or fish but one guy asked the waiter what was "agouti roti" (roasted agouti). We'd never heard of it, and after trying to explain it unsuccessfully the French speaking waiter finally said, "C'est un gros rat." (It's a fat rat.). We (those of us who spoke French) laughed so hard but our buddy ordered it anyway and enjoyed it. I was glad I was vegetarian! Good luck getting yourself an agouti food disposal!
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