The fauna of Guatemala has been almost as much neglected as the flora; but although insect-life seems abundant, and many of the rivers swarm with fish, I believe that animal life is comparatively scarce. Game certainly is, red-deer, peccaries, javias, turkeys, and pigeons being almost the whole bag. Among the mammals the monkeys are here fairly represented, the little white-faced (Cebus albifrons) being the most attractive. This monkey has a face nearly devoid of hair, and as white as a European. The hands and feet are very well formed, the nails especially so, and the tail is quite long. It seems less difficult for him to stand erect than for most monkeys, and when domesticated (an easy process) he is an affectionate pet. The howling-monkeys (Mycetes stentor) will be remembered by every traveller as the noisiest of the nocturnal animals. Several other small monos are common in the forests (Simia apella, S. fatuellus, and S. capucina), where they feed on wild-figs and other fruits. The pezote (Nassua solitaria) is found in the forests of the eastern mountain-ranges.
The manatee, or lamantin (Manatus Americanus), once found in the Golfo Dulce, is now seldom, if ever, seen on the coast of Guatemala, although still found in British Honduras, where the hide is used for whips, canes, etc. I have seen the tracks of the danta (Tapirus Americanus) in the Chocon forests, but never the animal, as its habits are more nocturnal than mine. Conies (Lepus Douglassi), taltusas (Geomys heterodus), mapachines (Procyon cancrivorus), and armadillos (Dasypus sp.) are common articles of food among the Indios. Red-deer (Cervus dama) are found in the interior. Peccaries (Jabali, Dicotyles tajaçu) feed in droves in the bottom-lands, and are perhaps the most dangerous of the wild animals of Guatemala; their sharp tusks will cut terribly, and the little beast is too stupid to be frightened away when thoroughly angered. It is said that even the jaguar fears to attack a drove, but skulks behind, hoping to pick up a straggler. They can, however, be tamed, and I have seen them with domestic pigs about the streets of San Felipe, Pansos, and other places. The white-lipped peccary, jaguilla, or warree (Dicotyles torquatus), makes its presence known at a considerable distance by the peculiar odor emitted from a small pouch on its back. The hunter, when killing, takes care to cut this sack out at once, or it would quickly taint the entire body of this otherwise good pork. In the open forests I have often found peccary tracks, but never unaccompanied by the full, round print of the jaguar. When pursued, the peccary takes readily to the water, and swims rivers. The jaguar, or tigre, as he is always called in Central America, is not a very dangerous animal, as he fears man much more than man fears him. The tigre is especially fond of dogs, and will enter a house at night to carry off the prized morsel; sometimes when hungry he will persistently resist all efforts to drive him away from a house-yard, and one of my monteros was attacked by one when sleeping in the forest. In this case the tigre was in complete darkness, and was badly gashed by the man’s machete; but so far from being frightened, he actually pursued the montero more than a mile to the nearest house, where a gun was obtained and the wounded animal shot. I have seen skins between five and six feet long, exclusive of head and tail. The puma (Felis concolor) is more common in the mountain regions, and the “lion” that descended from the Volcan de Agua and ravaged the country about the young City of Guatemala (antigua) was of this species. The ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and coyote (Canis ochropus) are also found in the interior.
Of creeping things the warm regions of the earth are supposed to be prolific. I had been told of the terrible serpents,—the boas that hung from the trees and whipped up deer, the deadly tomagoff, and others, until I was ready to see their folds around every tree, or their coils under every bush. I was to be deprived of a swim in the rivers and lakes because of the alligators, and I must beware of scorpions and centipedes. Now, in fact, the alligators are few in number, small in size, and very deficient in courage. There are a hundred in Florida to every one in Guatemala, and I seldom got a shot at any; I was able to kill only one, and he was not over seven feet in length. A much larger one came ashore to lay her eggs near a house on the Chocon plantation, and was killed. The musky odor of the alligator is very strong during the breeding season, and the eggs (which are eaten by the Caribs) have a very strong flavor. They are small,—less than three inches long,—alike at each end, and rough; when dry, the shells contract, and finally split in spiral strips. Young alligators, not more than a foot long, are eaten, it is said, by the Indios.
The iguana I have already described. So abundant are these delicious reptiles that they are sometimes brought to Belize by the dory-load; and one may see several hundred Caribs each carrying home one or two iguanas, still alive, but with toes tied together, over the back. Of other lizards there are many kinds, from the harmless little fellows which make a squeaking in the thatch at night, to the long-tailed, crested lizards which rob the hens’ nests and even make way with the small chickens. Fresh-water turtles are abundant, and one, the hikatee, is excellent eating; so are its eggs, of the size of a pullet’s, of which some two or three dozen are found in a nest six or eight inches below the surface of the sand. The sexes are easily distinguished by the shape of the tail, the female having a shorter and thicker one. The sea-turtle (including the hawksbill, so valuable for the tortoise-shell) are very abundant, and are caught in seines by the use of floating decoys. Some of these turtle weigh one hundred and fifty pounds, and their steaks are white and tender as the best veal. I have never been on the shore at the egg-season, and so can say nothing of the taste; but I am told they are much inferior to the eggs of the iguana. It is a common thing to capture sea-turtles which have had a flapper bitten off by sharks, and usually the wound has healed well, the soft scales covering the stump completely.
Of the frogs, the most troublesome are those which get into the cisterns or behind the water-jars, and make a very loud and disagreeable noise.
On the Atlantic coast snakes are much less common than on the Pacific. Two long, slender snakes, quite harmless,—one green, the other reddish-brown,—are seen once in a while; but although the natives believe that all snakes are poisonous, only the tomagoff,—a short, thick snake of dark color,—the rattlesnake, and the coral snake are really venomous, and these are rarely seen. Stories are told of boas seen lying across a road with head and tail concealed in the trees on either side; but they lack confirmation, and perhaps may be classed with the absurd snake story told by Juarros.[59]
The supply of fish is good. The saw-fish grows to a great size, and its teeth are very long and sharp. The jew-fish is large, weighing several hundred pounds, and is good food. Snappers, mullet, bone-fish, king-fish, and a score of others of which we know only the local names, including one with solid red meat, are found in the rivers and bays. Of crustaceans, the crayfish takes the place of the lobster, and a small crab is common among the mangroves and in swampy forests; larger crabs come to the shores in breeding-time, but not in such numbers as at Belize.
Scorpions are large and dreaded; but their sting is not more painful than that of a hornet, and they are sluggish, and not abundant even in their chosen haunts. Centipedes are seen on the tree-stems, and many are drowned during the rains. This articulate is by no means quick in its motions, and falls a prey to the agile cockroach.
Spiders are abundant, both in species and individuals; and Mr. Frederick Sarg, of Guatemala, has drawn most beautifully, and carefully described, many new species. The hairy tarantula is the most dreaded; but others found on the rocks by the river-sides are perhaps larger.