Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris[1], known as carpincho in Spanish and
capivara in Portuguese[2]) is the largest rodent still in existence in the world,[3] related to guinea
pigs, agouti, coyphillas and chinchillas.[4] Its
common name, derived from Kapiÿva in the Guarani Indian language,[2] means "Master of the Grasses"[5] while its scientific name, hydrochaeris, is Latin for "water
hog."[4] Capybaras have heavy,
barrel-shaped bodies and short heads with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of their body that
turns yellowish-brown underneath. Adult Capybaras may grow as long as centimetres ( ft) and centimetres ( ft) tall,
weighing up to kilograms ( lb).[6][7][8][9] Capybaras have slightly webbed feet and no tail; their
back legs are slightly longer than their front legs and their muzzles are blunt with eyes, nostrils, and ears on the top of their
head.[10] Capybaras have a total of 20
teeth.[11] Females are slightly heavier than
males.[4]
Though now extinct, there once existed even larger capybaras that were eight times the
size of modern capybaras (these rodents would have been larger than a grizzly
bear).[10][11]
Development
Capybara reaches sexual maturity within 18 months[10] and breed when conditions are right, which can be once per year (such as in
Brazil) or throughout the year (such as in Venezuela and
Colombia). The male pursues a female and mounts when the female stops in water. Capybara
gestation is 130-150 days and usually produces a litter of
four capybara babies, but may produce between two and eight in a single litter.[8] Birth is on land and the female will rejoin the group within a few hours
of delivering the newborn capybaras, who will join the group as soon as they are mobile. Within a
week the young can eat grass, but will continue to suckle - from any female in the group
until weaned at about 16 weeks. Youngsters will form a group within the main group.[10][5] The rainy season of April and May
mark the peak breeding season.[2] Like other rodents, the front teeth of Capybaras grow continually to compensate for the constant
wearing-down of eating grasses.[5]
When fully grown, a capybara will have coarse hair that is sparsely spread over their skin,
making the capybara prone to sunburn. To prevent this, they may roll in mud to protect their
skin from the sun.[11] Their cheek teeth grow continuously.[3]
Habitat
Capybara are semi-aquatic mammals[9] found wild in much of South America (including
Panama, Columbia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina,
French Guyana, Uruguay, Peru, and Paraguay[5]) in densely forested areas near bodies of water, such as
lakes, rivers, swamps,
ponds and marshes,[6][7] such as flooded savannah
and along rivers in tropical forest.[10] They roam in home
ranges of 25-50 acres (10-20 ha).[11]
Diet
Capybara is a herbivore (more specifically, a graminivore[5]), grazing
mainly on grasses and aquatic plants,[6] as well as fruit and tree bark.[7][9] An adult capybara will eat kg ( lb) to kilograms
( lb) of grasses per day.[11]
Capybara's jaw hinge is non-perpindicular and they thus chew food by grinding back and forth rather than side-to-side.[3]
Behavior
Capybaras are social animals, usually found in groups, between 10 and 30 (though looser groups
of up to 100 sometimes can be formed),[10] controlled
by a dominant male[6] (who will have
a prominent scent gland on his nose[10] used for smearing his scent on the grasses in his territory[5]). They communicate through a
combination of scent and sound, being very vocal animals with purrs and alarm barks,[10] whistles and
clicks, squeals and grunts.[5]
Capybaras are excellent swimmers[7] and can survive completely underwater for up to five minutes,[6] an ability they will use to evade predators.[7] If
necessary, a Capybara can sleep underwater, keeping its nose just at the waterline.[7]
Capybaras eat their own faeces in the morning in order to help digest the cellulose in the grass that forms their normal diet. During
midday, as temperatures increase, Capybaras wallow in water to keep cool and then graze in
late afternoons and early evenings. They sleep little, usually dozing off and on throughout the day and grazing into and through
the night.[10]
Conservation
Capybara are not on the IUCN list [4] and so not considered a threatened
species; their population is stable through most of their South American ranges,
though in some areas hunting has reduced their numbers.[5][6] They have a lifespan of 4-8 years in the wild[7] but average a life less than four years
as they are "a favourite food of anacondas, jaguar, puma, ocelot,
eagle and caiman".[5]
Capybaras are hunted for their meat and skins in some areas, and otherwise killed by
humans who see their grazing as competition for livestock. The
skins are particularly prized for making fine gloves because of its odd characteristic - it stretches in just one
direction.[12] In some areas they
are farmed, which has the effect of insuring that the wetland habitats are protected. Their survival is aided by their ability to
breed rapidly.[5]
Captivity
Capybaras can be found in many areas in zoos and parks, sometimes
allowed to roam freely and may live for 12 years in captivity.[10][5]
Where to find
Capybara exhibit marker at the Hattiesburg Zoo in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Hattiesburg has two Capybara in a fenced Capybara
exhibit area.
- Three capybaras live at the Smithsonian Zoological Park's elephant house (as of 09/2006).[6]
- At least three capybaras live at Wildlife Safari in Oregon (as of 2007).
- Two capybaras live at the Hattiesburg Zoo in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (as of 09/2007).[7]
- Two capybaras live at the San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco, California (as of
10/2007).[3]
- Two capybaras live at the San Diego Zoo (as of 10/2007).[13]
- Two capybaras live at Hovatter's Zoo in Kingwood, West Virginia (as of 09/2007).
- Two capybaras live at the York's Wild Kingdom in
York, Maine (as of 09/2007).
- Two capybaras live at Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, Massachusetts (as of 10/2007).
- Two capybaras live at the High Park Zoo in Toronto, Ontario
(as of 09/2007).
- At least two capybaras live at the Denver Zoo in Denver, Colorado (as of 2007).
- At least two capybaras live at the Attica Zoological Park in Greece.
- At least one capybara lives at the Palm Beach Zoo in West Palm Beach, Florida (as of 2007).[9]
- At least one capybara lives at the Biodome du Montreal (Montreal Biodome), in
Montreal, Quebec (as of 09/2007).
- At least one capybara lives at the Prague Zoological Garden (as of 09/2006).
- At least one capybara lives at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin (as of 09/2004).
- At least one capybara lives at the Burgers
Zoo in the Netherlands (as of 05/2007).
- At least one capybara lives at the Grande Zoo in Albuquerque,
New Mexico (as of 05/2007).
- At least one capybara lives at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, Missouri (as of 2007).[14]
- At least one capybara lives at the Bristol Zoo in Bristol, England (as of 12/2005).
- At least five capybaras lives at the Zoo Schönbrunn in Vienna (as of 2005).
- At least one capybara lives at the Kolmården Zoo in Sweden (as of 2005).
- At least one capybara lives at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans.
Human interactions
Capy relaxing in his water pool at the Hattiesburg (Mississippi) Zoo.
Capybaras are gentle animals and will usually allow humans to pet and hand-feed them. Capybara
skin is tough, and thus in some areas where capybaras are wild, they are hunted for meat and their skin, which is turned into a
high-quality leather,[5] while some
ranchers hunt them for fear of the competition for
grazing. The meat is said to both look and taste like pork.[2] The Capybara meat is dried and salted, then shredded and seasoned.[15] Considered a delicacy, it is often served with rice and plantains.[16]
During the Catholic celebration of Lent, capybara meat is
especially popular as the church classified the
animal as a fish in the 16th century (and has never reversed
this erroneous classification).[11][2][15][17][16]
Gallery
Capybara at The National Zoo in Washington, D.C. (September 2006)
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Capybara at the Prague Zoological Garden (September 2006)
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Capybara at the Prague Zoological Garden (September 2006)
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Capybara near Rurenabaque in Bolivia (August 2003)
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Capybara near Rurenabaque in Bolivia (August 2003)
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Capybara at the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison, Wisconsin (September 2004)
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Capybara: Frontalansicht eines Wasserschweins (February 2004)
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Swimming capybara at Iberá Marshes in Corrientes, Argentina (August 2002)
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Capybara at Burgers Zoo, The Netherlands (May 2007)
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Capybara from the Rio Grande Zoo in AlbuquerqueNew Mexico (May 2007)
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Capybara at the Bristol Zoo in Bristol, England (December 2005)
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Soaking-wet capybara in Brazil (September 2006)
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Capybara at Kolmården Zoo in Sweden (2005)
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Capybara with young at the Zoo Schönbrunn in Vienna (2005)
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Young Capybaras at the Zoo Schönbrunn in Vienna (2005)
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Capybara resting (March 2005)
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See also
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External links
References
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