(Click on any picture to see a larger version)
NEW: A story of capybara devotion from Rio.
Capybara videos!
Click here for a picture of a capybara seen in the wild in Shreveport, LA, sent in by a reader.
Old New Things:
Capybaras invade Washington, DC! Click here for the inside scoop.
Capybara news from Ohio - be on the lookout!
: Click here for a page of capybara facts (and it's about time.)
Buy capybara earrings here
Don't miss the perpetual capybara machine.
The capybara,
Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris, is a semi-aquatic rodent of South
America. It weighs about a hundred pounds, and is about 2 feet
tall at the shoulder. To help you imagine the size of a capybara,
click on the image to the right to see a picture including a
human being (5 ft. tall) for scale. The two capybaras on the
right are adults, the rest are juveniles.
These pictures, including capybaras eating popcorn, were taken at Southwicks Wild Animal Farm in Mendon, Mass. (south of Worcester) which we recommend highly to the capybara-minded.
The next pictures show capybaras engaging in typical behaviors like nursing, swimming, and having their exhibit cleaned at the Montreal Biodome. Also included is an excellent top view of the juveniles. By the way, "capybara" is stressed on the third syllable.
This picture of a handsome
male clearly shows the scent gland on his snout which he probably
uses to mark his territory.
These pictures were taken at our recent trip to the Philadelphia Zoo.
Click on this picture for more photographs of capybaras living the good life in California...
Capyboppy, a book
written and illustrated by Bill Peet, published by Houghton Mifflin Company, is the
true story of a capybara who actually lived with the Peet family.
We highly recommend this book to any capybara fan. It is required
reading for anyone who is considering trying out a capybara at
home.
Click here for capybara correspondence and more great capybara literature
We have read that capybaras may be eaten by Catholics during Lent in parts of South America, because they are aquatic. Fortunately, we have no pictures of this activity.
According to Emilio
Herrera, a biologist and capybara expert at Universidad Simon
Bolivar in Caracas Venezuela:
"It is true that capybaras are eaten during Lent, but
only in Venezuela, and even there not everywhere. However, its
dried and salted meat is highly appreciated and is a traditional
lenten dish. The annual capybara harvest is legal and regulated
by government. The well-designed management plan (based on a
study by Juhani Ojasti published in 1973) has been in operation
for many years and is very successful, contributing income to
ranchers, meat for people, and not damaging their populations."
More on capybara meat (and other products ) here.
Quoted from The Mammals, A Guide to the Living Species by Desmond Morris, Harper & Row, New York, 1965:
Looking rather like a cross between a Guinea-pig and a Hippopotamus, the Capybara is the largest of all the I,729 species of living rodents. Extinct forms of this animal were even bigger, but the pig-sized, surviving specimens can reach an adult weight of more than IOO lb., an overall length of 4 feet and a shoulder height of 21 inches.
It lives in large groups along the river banks, where it grazes peacefully on the lush grasses and the aquatic vegetation. It comes out on to dry land to rest and bask in the sun but at the first hint of danger the whole troop dashes into the water. Its worst enemies are the Puma and the Jaguar.
Capybaras inhabiting the colder regions of South America have a long shaggy coat, but the typical form has the short, pale and rather coarse hair that can be seen in the above photograph. The face is very deep, the ears and tail are small and the feet are slightly webbed. There is a large bump in the middle of the top of the nose, which appears to be a scent gland of some kind.
Capybaras adapt easily to life in captivity and become remarkably friendly. They are rather vocal for rodents, often giving vent to a series of strange clicks, squeaks and grunts. It is important that they should be provided with a pool, as they appear to have a strong resistance to defecating or mating on dry land. The gestation period is approximately 4 months and maximum longevity about 1O years.
P.S.: Dr. Morris informs us that the capybara is his favorite rodent.
Below is a list of zoos where we think you can see capybaras, as reported by our faithful readers, and which we've seen on our own visits. Of course we can't be sure this list is up to date, so always phone ahead before visiting any zoo to avoid committing yourself to a wild rodent chase...
A probably more up to date resource , the WorldZoo ISIS Abstracts is an index of many species and the zoos which have them. Click on "Species holdings" to search for capybaras by common or Latin name.
Please note that most of these zoos probably do have web pages but I can't keep up with chasing down all the URLs, which keep changing.
If you have additional sightings or corrections, send them to 
and we'll
add them to the list.
North America: East
North America: West
North America: South
North America: Central
Europe
South America
Africa
Asia
Other
Submitted by other loyal capybara fans:
New: letter and pictures from Sao Paolo, Brazil
Other Capybara links:
Contact:
Last updated 8/31/04
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