The pack grows in length from 70 to 80 cm, in height from 32 to 34 cm and weighs from 6 to 12 kg. She has a rough coat without undercoat, from above from black to dark brown in color, and from below from white to yellowish. On the body on the sides from three to five stripes of white spots. Paki has strong legs with four toes on the front and five toes on the hind legs.
Paca lives in South America east of the Andes, as well as in the tropical and subtropical regions of Central America.
Paka is active at night, leads a solitary lifestyle. Lives in forests near water bodies. When in danger, he runs away into them, where for quite a long time he remains immersed in water, or freezes for up to half an hour.
It differs from other mammals in the resonator formed from the zygomatic arches of the skull. As a result, the pack is capable of producing extremely loud noises for animals of this body size when grinding teeth and growling.
Paka is herbivorous. The basis of nutrition is composed of fruits (avocados, mangoes) and seeds. He often collects them in hard-to-reach places and then chews them in peace.
There are 5 subspecies [4] :
- Cuniculus paca paca
- Cuniculus paca guanta
- Cuniculus paca mexicanae
- Cuniculus paca nelsoni
- Cuniculus paca virgata
