- Where to see one
- 4 U.S. zoos in our directory hold paca, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the paca
The lowland paca, also called the spotted paca, is a rodent with coarse dark brown to black fur, a pale underbelly and typically three to five rows of white spots along its sides. Adults weigh 6 to 12 kilograms. It is mostly nocturnal and solitary, living in forested habitats near water and digging simple burrows about 2 m below the surface, usually with more than one exit. A good swimmer, it often heads for the water to escape danger and can stay under water for several minutes. It eats mainly plant material, including fruit, seeds, nuts, roots and tubers, and acts as a seed distributor.
Paca facts
- Its cheekbone is enlarged into a resonating chamber, a feature unique among mammals.
- It is called tepezcuintle in most of Mexico and gibnut in Belize.
- A paca usually lives up to 13 years.
- It sometimes eats carcasses of decomposing animals, possibly for protein.
Where to see paca in the U.S.
4 zoos across 3 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 2 zoos holding paca by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
2 more zoos hold paca but have no coordinates on file yet, so they aren't ranked here. They're in the full list below.
California· 2
Michigan· 1
Tennessee· 1
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
