Spread across the continent of South America, capybaras form large communities and socialize freely with other animals. However, the capybara's cuteness is but only one reason why you should care about the water hog. Cute capybaras and their super chill demeanor litter countless Pinterest boards, showing off their swimming skills for the world to fawn over. This is a good way to eat tough plant materials.Īt the San Diego Zoo, the capys are offered low-starch, high-fiber biscuits, assorted veggies and greens, and Bermuda grass hay.What’s not to love about the capybara? The overgrown guinea pig may be the largest rodent in the world, but you should give more than a rat's a** about it. They chew their food from side to side, like a camel, rather than up and down, like we do. They also eat their own poop to get beneficial bacteria to help their stomach break down the thick fiber in their meals.Įven though rodents aren’t closely related to ruminants like goats, cows, and giraffes, capybaras regurgitate their food to chew it some more. ![]() An adult capy can eat 6 to 8 pounds (2.7 to 3.6 kilograms) of grass per day! During the dry season, when fresh grasses and water plants dry up, capybaras eat reeds, grains, melons, and squashes. Capybaras use their long, sharp teeth for grazing on grass and water plants. The most well-known of those features are probably those ever-growing front teeth. Long in the teeth. Because capybaras are rodents, they share some common features with mice, squirrels, and porcupines. They roam the swampy, grassy regions bordering rivers, ponds, streams. They tend to eat around dawn and dusk, but if capybaras feel threatened, they wait until the safe cover of night to eat.įeeling right at home. Capybara live in Central and South America. ![]() A capybara can lift just those parts out of the water to learn everything it needs to know about its surroundings while the rest of its body remains hidden underwater.Ĭapybaras also wallow in shallow water and mud to keep cool during a hot day before wandering out in the evening to graze. ![]() The capybara has something in common with the hippo: its eyes, ears, and nostrils are all found near the top of the its head. It uses those webbed feet (four toes on each front foot and three on each back one) to swim as well as walk. In fact, a capybara can stay underwater for up to five minutes at a time to hide from predators. Water is a source of life for the capybara, as they eat water plants and grasses and use the water itself to escape from danger. Due to its dry skin, a capy requires a swimming hole as part of its lifestyle to stay healthy. Water pig. Africa has hippos, and the Americas have capybaras! Capys are found east of the Andes on Central and South American riverbanks, beside ponds, and in marshes or wherever standing water is available. ![]() Originally thought to be a pig of some sort, we now know that the capybara is a rodent, closely related to cavies and guinea pigs. A rodent of unusual size. Is it a beaver without a tail? A hairy pig without a snout? No, it’s a capybara, the largest rodent in the world! Standing 2 feet (60 centimeters) tall at the shoulder and built somewhat like a barrel with legs, the “capy” has long, light brown, shaggy hair, a face that looks like a beaver’s, no tail, and slightly webbed feet.
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