Ida Mae Sutherland, age 8, of Glendale, Kentucky, for her question:

Is there an animal called the agouti?

Oh yes, there is such an animal though we have to go south of the border to visit him at home. Agoutis of various colors abound in Mexico and many South American countries. The best places to trace down an agouti are in shady forests and bushy woods. He sleeps through the day so the search should be on a moonlit night. When you hear the rustling sound of a smallish animal, keep out of sight in the ferny foli¬age. Here he comes, looking somewhat like a long legged, short eared bunny. The agouti is foraging for vegetable food, for fruit and fallen nuts. He trots gracefully here and there on his dainty paws. Now and then he stops to nibble and you see that his furry coat is some shade of brown with a bright orange patch on his bottom.

When startled, he breaks into long, leaping jumps and trips away fast. As he goes, he looks like a galloping jackrabbit    minus thevars. If his path to safety leads to a stream, into the water he jumps and swims across to the other side. Some¬times the agouti makes secret night raids on the crops. His list of favorite food includes bananas and sugar cane from the plantations.