Happy Cappy

My favorite animal is the capybara, so I decided to do a report on them. Unfortunately I can’t really remember when I heard of them for the first time, however I can remember the first time I was able to see one in real life. We were camping in our RV, and Cici was staying with us in New Jersey. We decided to visit the Cape May zoo and while walking through I saw them. There were two adults and around 6 babies relaxing in the shade, it was so cute! We watched them for a while, but there was a whole zoo to look at, so unfortunately we had to move on.

Some of you may have never heard of a capybara, so I will elaborate about what they are. The capybara is the largest rodent in the world, although the zoo that I mentioned previously also said that the African crested porcupine was the largest, but I looked it up and the capybara is indeed the largest. They are semi aquatic, and are one of the few rodents who spend most of their lives in and around the water. They are native to South America, and are a large part of many predator’s diets, such as the anaconda and the jaguar. During the ice age there was at least one species of North American capybara, but now they are found exclusively in South America, except in zoos and a small invasive population in Florida.

I really like capybaras for many reasons, but the main one is that they are so cute! They always look kind of grumpy, but I think that it just makes them look more cute. They are also actually really nice, which I find very interesting considering that almost everything around them wants to eat them. Most animals that are preyed on so much either become really aggressive, really flighty, or both. However, capybaras are neither in most situations. This also doesn’t just apply to humans, capybaras will let birds and other animals rest on them and be completely fine with it, which in most situations other animals would not let that slide. In conclusion, capybaras are giant, insanely chill water guinea pigs that I cannot get enough of. Thanks for reading and goodbye!