40 Capybara Facts: Habitat, Behavior & Family Life

Size, shape and swimming: facts 1–10

• 1. Capybaras are the largest rodents alive today; they are not the largest rodents ever to have existed.
• 2. Adults can weigh more than 100 pounds, though size varies with sex and individual.
• 3. Their bodies are barrel-shaped, with short legs and coarse brownish hair.
• 4. A capybara has no conspicuous external tail, unlike a beaver or many smaller rodents.
• 5. Eyes sit high on the head, helping an animal look around while mostly submerged.
• 6. The ears and nostrils are also positioned high on the head, useful for a life close to water.
• 7. Partly webbed feet help with swimming rather than turning its legs into flippers.
• 8. There are four toes on each front foot and three on each hind foot.
• 9. Capybaras can stay submerged for about five minutes; they breathe air, not through gills.
• 10. Their front incisor teeth grow continuously and are worn down through feeding.

Habitat and food: facts 11–20

• 11. The common capybara is native to much of South America east of the Andes.
• 12. The lesser capybara, Hydrochoerus isthmius, is a separate, smaller species.
• 13. Lesser capybaras occur in northwestern South America and Panama; that does not put every common capybara population in Central America.
• 14. Rivers, marshes, ponds and seasonally flooded habitats can support capybaras.
• 15. Nearby grazing land is important: water alone is not an adequate habitat.
• 16. They are herbivores, feeding heavily on grasses and aquatic plants.
• 17. Their diet can change seasonally as available vegetation changes.
• 18. Capybaras eat some of their own droppings, recovering nutrients from plant material.
• 19. Water and mud help them cool down in hot conditions.
• 20. Activity often concentrates around cooler parts of the day, but local conditions affect the schedule.

Family life and communication: facts 21–30

• 21. Capybaras are social rather than normally solitary animals.
• 22. A typical group can include around ten individuals, with substantial variation.
• 23. Much larger gatherings can form around remaining water during the dry season.
• 24. Groups may contain a dominant male, females, young and subordinate males.
• 25. A male has a prominent scent gland on the snout known as a morillo.
• 26. Scent marking conveys information within their social world.
• 27. Capybaras communicate with several sounds, including barks and whistles.
• 28. An alarm bark can warn nearby group members of danger.
• 29. Young are born relatively well developed, with fur and open eyes.
• 30. Females may nurse young other than their own, an example of shared care.

Wildlife, conservation and the internet: facts 31–40

• 31. A litter commonly contains around four young, though litter size varies.
• 32. Young begin sampling vegetation early while still relying on milk.
• 33. Jaguars are among the predators of capybaras.
• 34. Large reptiles, including anacondas and caimans, can also prey on capybaras.
• 35. Water provides a refuge from some dangers, not protection from every predator.
• 36. Capybaras are part of wetland food webs as both grazers and prey.
• 37. Birds sometimes perch on capybaras; tolerance of them does not mean universal friendship with all animals.
• 38. People hunt capybaras for meat and hides in parts of their range.
• 39. Habitat loss and hunting can matter locally even when the species is globally Least Concern.
• 40. Captive care requires social companionship, suitable grazing, water and professional planning; internet popularity is not a pet-care qualification.

Why does everyone call capybaras friendly?