The capybara (also capibara), Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris ("Water pig") is a semi-aquatic herbivorous animal, the largest of living rodents. It is endemic to most of the tropical and temperate parts of South America east of the Andes, and has been introduced to north-central Florida and possibly other subtropical regions in the United States. It is the only living member of the family Hydrochoeridae. Some scientists consider a dwarf race, Hydrochoerus isthmius, to be a valid species. The Panama or Panamanian Dwarf Capybara has a range restricted to northwest Venezuela, Colombia, and into Panama. It is about half the size of a normal capybara.
| Capybara Temporal range: Pleistocene - Recent
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| Genus: | Hydrochoerus |
| Species: | H. hydrochaeris
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| Capybara range | |
The animal is also called capivara in Portuguese, and carpincho, chigüiro or chigüire in Spanish. The name originally derives from Tupi kaapĩ ûara ("grass eater") or possibly from the Guarani word kapiÿva, meaning roughly "master of the grasses". In English, it is also sometimes called Water Hog (which is also the literal translation of its species name).
Description and habits
Full-grown capybaras reach 105 to 135 cm (40 to 55 inches) in length, and weigh 35 to 65 kg (75 to 140 lbs). Except for their large size, they resemble guinea pigs. They are excellent swimmers, and have partially webbed feet. Their front legs have four fingers and hind legs have three.
Capybaras spend most of their life in water: they mate in the water, use water to hide from and elude predators (chiefly anacondas, jaguars and humans), and can stay submerged for several minutes. They can even sleep underwater by leaving their noses exposed to the air.
Capybaras are largely herd animals, although pairs or singletons are often seen too. Males have a gland on their noses which exudes a liquid pheromone. In the mating season, they rub this gland on surrounding foliage to attract females. They spend most of their time on river banks, feeding in the mornings and evenings. The diet consists of vegetation such as river plants and bark.
The young are noticeably lighter colored than adults.
Economic and ecological aspects
Hunting
In the regions along the Paraná river in Southern Brazil, Bolivia, Northern Argentina, Southeast Colombia, and Uruguay, capybaras are occasionally hunted for food and for their leather. The flesh is described as tasting like pork and has a similar whitish appearance.
Venezuelan farmers who once considered the animal a pest now make a valuable addition to their incomes by selling capybara meat (approximately 400 metric tons annually). The rodents are rounded up in February so that they can be slaughtered and sold just before the onset of Lent, when the meat is in high demand.
The popularity of capybara meat in Venezuela is attributed to a 16th century theological decision by the Roman Catholic Church responding to queries by Venezuelan Catholics, that capybara meat is equivalent to fish meat for the purposes of Lent, and thus allowed its consumption during that time [1][2].[citation needed] The decision may have been taken on the basis of incomplete or inaccurate descriptions of the capybara available to the Church authorities in Rome. But this decision was never reversed, and to this day the capybara is the only warm-blooded animal with this status. (This story should be treated with caution, since similar claims have been circulated concerning other semi-aquatic mammals, such as beavers and muskrats[3].)
As pets
Capybaras are often kept for "decorative" purposes in public parks, farms, and tourist resorts which have access to suitable water bodies. The animals are usually allowed to roam freely. They adapt easily to human presence, and allow themselves to be petted and hand-fed.
However, in Southeast Brazil (states of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Minas Gerais) this custom has caused trouble recently, when capybaras were found to be a reservoir for Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Thus disease can be transmitted to humans by the star tick (Amblyomma cajennense), a common parasite of many animals including capybaras and humans. Responding to pressure from health authorities and public opinion, many public places in those states have eliminated the capybaras they once kept[citation needed].
In popular culture
- In the American cartoon show, The Tick, the title character's pet "dog," Speak, is actually a sickly capybara.
- The Capybara bears resemblance to the Romanian 'Shobolan', a huge rodent to whom the rural Romanian mythology attributes human-like behavior.
- Author and artist, Bill Peet wrote and illustrated Capyboppy, a book about his family's keeping of a pet capybara in the 1960s. He later wrote The Wump World, featuring title creatures which look and behave very much like capybaras.
- In the Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 'capybara' is one of the words given to the eccentric, cape-wearing speller Leaf Coneybear.
- The alternative rock group Rasputina performed a song called "Rats" on their 2002 album Cabin Fever. The song tells the story of the Vatican declaration of the capybara as fish, allowing South Americans to eat them on Fridays and during Lent.
- "Kapibara-san" is a cartoon capybara from Japan, available in many forms of merchandise such as plush dolls and key chains. It is depicted as a relaxed, lazy character who enjoys onsens. Its relaxed nature and cute appearance is typical of many popular cartoon characters featured in collectable merchandise, such as Rilakkuma, a relaxing bear.
See also
- Neochoerus pinckneyi, an extinct North American capybara
- Nutria
- Patagonian cavy
- Phoberomys pattersoni, an even larger extinct rodent