What’s all the fuss about Capybaras? Move over guinea pigs, the master of the grasses, the world’s largest rodent is having its spotlight moment. A rodent of unusual size, the Capybara is swimming its way into the hearts and minds of people all over the world.
Native to South America, the capybara or greater capybara, also known by its scientific name genus Hydrochoerus Hydrochaeris, is really just an oversized water hog. Weighing in at an average of 150 pounds, taking on a capybara as a pet is a serious commitment. A giant guinea pig-sized commitment and they’re going to need more than a small cage in your bedroom!
All About Capybaras
Where Capybaras Live
Found in countries like Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Northern Argentina, capybaras live in wetland areas near bodies of water like rivers and lakes. Since Capybaras live where it is warm, they need some help for staying cool on hot, sunny days. On a hot day, you may see them swimming about in the water to keep cool and then lounging around together as if they were on vacation.
You’ll typically find larger groups of Capybara grazing in the morning hours before the sun is at its hottest. After spending the morning eating fresh grasses, these large rodents will move their way toward their water source to spend the afternoon staying cool.
What Capybaras Eat
Capybaras are herbivorous mammals who love to graze and their diet consists mostly of grasses and aquatic plants. In addition to water plants, they will also eat fruit, nuts, and insects on occasion. These social animals will gather in groups and spend many hours grazing on grasses much like farm animals.
Capybaras often have the need to regurgitate and then rechew their food as a way to absorb more of the nutrients in their food. In addition, they will often eat their own feces, but with a purpose. Capybaras have two different types of excrement. One type is normal waste (yes, poop!) like you might expect from a mammal, while the other has the consistency of paste and is rich in protein providing extra nutrition when consumed.
World’s Largest Rodent Characteristics
An adult Capybara weighs nearly as much as a human with an average adult capybara weighing between 120 and 150 pounds. Standing at nearly 24″ tall from their feet to their shoulder, a capybara is about the size of a wild hog. Males tend to grow larger than females. A herbivorous animal, they mainly use their front teeth to consume aquatic plants and grasses, but they can also use their large incisors for protection as well.
Capybaras have strong hind legs and webbed feet that they need for swimming. They are covered in coarse hair and have an unusual head size. The location of their eyes, ears, and nostrils near the top of their heads that it so that they can swim and still be able to breathe and see above the water. Like a submarine, Capybaras can completely submerge themselves underwater for up to five minutes without coming up for air.
Capybaras Semi-aquatic Lifestyle
Capybaras are semi-aquatic animals and spend a large majority of their time in or near water. This is likely because their dense fur coat provides little protection against the harsh South American sun, and the water helps keep them cool. If you keep one as a pet, you will need to make sure to give them plenty of opportunities to cool off and get wet!
How Long do Capybaras Live?
In the wild, adult capybaras typically live for about four to five years. However, capybara populations raised in captivity can live for up to 12 years with proper care.
Gestation Period of Capybaras
The gestation period for Capybaras is about six months. Capybaras typically mate during the rainy season, but they can breed all year round including in the dry season, too. During their breeding season, the female Capybara will attract the attention of males by their scent and also with a whistling sound. There is much competition among the males and a dominant male will seek to keep all the females for himself. Since he is unable to do so, some subordinate males will also mate with the female capybara in the group. Wet season or dry season, all Capybaras mate in the water. After all, they are excellent swimmers!
World’s Largest Rodent Characteristics
Now that you know a little bit about where capybaras come from and what they eat, let’s talk about their physical characteristics as the world’s largest rodent. Capybaras are the largest rodents in the world, and they can weigh up to 150 pounds! They have short, reddish-brown fur, and their bodies. They have long legs and webbed feet, which help them swim. Capybaras also have very sharp incisors, which they use for chewing on plants.
An adult female Capybara will grow larger than an adult male and can weigh up to 170 pounds. The lesser capybara is slightly smaller than the greater capybara weighing in at about half the size. These wild animals reach sexual maturity at around 18 months of age. Young capybaras become adult capybaras very quickly!
Capybaras are social animals, and they live in large groups of up to 20 individuals. These groups are called “herds.” Herds typically consist of one male capybara and several females and their young. Male capybaras will defend their herd from predators and other males who try to join the group.
Keeping a Capybara as a Pet
Now that you know a little bit about capybaras, you might be wondering how to care for these exotic animals if you’re lucky enough to have one as a pet. The first thing you need to do is build them a large enclosure. Capybaras need plenty of space to roam, and they also need access to water. You should also provide them with plenty of grasses and other plants to eat. They enjoy fruits and vegetables as a treat, but the main source of their diet needs to come from lots and lots of fresh grass.
Capybaras will need more than one pool for their care. First, they will need a small potty pool because these large rodents do their business in the water. They obviously would not want to do this in the water where they swim and eat. Their second body of water needs to be a large pool for swimming and for cooling themselves down from time spent in the sun.
Capybaras are relatively low-maintenance pets, but they still require some care and attention. They need to be brushed regularly, and their nails will need to be trimmed periodically. Remember those incisors we mentioned earlier? You’ll need to keep a close eye on your Capybara if you let them in your house because they’ll use their sharp teeth to chew through just about anything.
If you’re planning to keep a Capybara as a pet, just remember that they need companionship to survive. While they seem like oversized dogs, they will need the companionship of another Capybara to live a long and healthy life.
