Trivia question for Sep-15-2011

Carter couldn’t believe that these little mammals were so high-stung.  When he learned what happens to them if they are handled by humans, he knew he had to feature them in his trivia.  These guys live in small family units in dense riverside undergrowth of tropical rainforest.

These guys are poorly equipped for defending itself in a fight, it relies on speed and agility to elude predators.  Females produce small litters of relatively precocial young, mothers produce a ‘purring’ vocalization to maintain contact with young. Unusually pregnant females do not specifically nest build but will instead choose a preferred nest site for the first week of lactation. Mothers can become very aggressive after parturition and raise their litters in isolation; weaning is extended and young remain with the mother for several weeks or months post-weaning to benefit from the mother’s protection.

So here are Carter’s questions: Tell us what this animal is and how their hoarding habits help the Brazilian nut tree?  Also, tell us what happens to these guys when they are handled by humans?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Wow, Carter did great with his trivia.  Lots of guesses but no one picked the little mammal we featured.  The little rodent we highlighted is the Green Acouchi.  The Green Acouchi, is a species of rodent from South America. Its distribution is in western Amazonia, west of the Rios Negro and Madeira, in northwestern Brazil, northeastern Peru, eastern Ecuador, southeastern Colombia, and southern Venezuela.

These guys forage on the forest floor in the day, digging small holes and storing food for the dry season.  Their hoarding habits is the main form of seed dispersal for the Brazilian nut tree.  It not only eats nuts but buries them throughout the forest at depths that are suitable for germination.  Handling a green acouchi endangers its health; zoo keepers find them so highly strung that the experience causes them to literally die of freight.  Here is more on these scared little rodents: Green Acouchi

Thanks for playing along 😉