Manuel Antonio's Ghost Rodent: Mystery Solved

A few people that walked through Manuel Antonio National Park have reported seeing a mysterious creature. Some describe it as the ghost of a giant, tailless squirrel, others as an hairless rabbit and still others as a huge lab rat. None of these descriptions fit any of the species in the science books. This creature was a total mystery to the park rangers and guides of the park. Some places possess myths that become legends, like Canada has its big-foot or Sasquatch, the Himalayas its yeti, Scotland its LochNess monster and Roswell New Mexico its aliens and flying saucers. The problem with all this is
that no one has a picture of them to prove they exist. But with Manuel Antonio's giant ghost squirrel the story is different. Our resident guide from Arenas del Mar, Pablo has taken the first picture of it that proves its existence and now the mystery is solved. Our mystical rodent is an agouti, but not any agouti, an albino agouti! Agoutis are very sneaky and shy rodents, and they are brown, so that's why the descriptions of this creature didn't fit any known animal of the area. Albinos are 1 of every 17,000. They have a problem producing the pigmentation that gives them color to their skin. Usually they have very sensitive eyes which are pink or very light blue, and their skin is extremely sensitive to the sunlight. From humans to reptiles, birds to amphibians, all types of animcals can have this problem. An albino animal is an extremely rare creature, but it is even rarer when one reaches maturity. This is not just because of their sensitive eyes and skin, but because they totally lack of a camouflage, they are really easy to find by their predators, even at night. . Our friend the albino agouti has been really lucky so far because it is full grown already and it seems that it has learned well how to take care of itself. Really lucky indeed, considering that the Manuel Antonio wetlands are home to caimans and crocodiles and the boa constrictor is a fairly common snake in the area. So check out the picture because that's the first picture ever taken of an albino agouti in the world,
a true rarity. And we encourage you to visit Manuel Antonio yourself and try to find the albino agouti, formerly called a myth, now ascended to the rank of living legend.

By: Jose Pablo Fdez, naturalist guide