capybara

Its common name is derived from Tupi {{lang|tpn|ka'apiûara}}, a complex agglutination of {{lang|tpn|kaá}} (leaf) + {{lang|tpn|píi}} (slender) + {{lang|tpn|ú}} (eat) + {{lang|tpn|ara}} (a suffix for agent nouns), meaning "one who eats slender leaves", or "grass-eater".Ferreira, A. B. H. (1986) Novo Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, 2nd ed., Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira, p.344 The genus name, hydrochoerus, comes from Greek {{lang|grc|ὕδωρ}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|hýdor}} "water") and {{lang|grc|χοῖρος}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|choíros}} "pig, hog") and the species name, hydrochaeris, comes from Greek {{lang|grc|ὕδωρ}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|hýdor}} "water") and {{lang|grc|χαίρω}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|chairo}} "feel happy, enjoy").{{MSW3 Woods|id=13400218|page=1556}}{{Cite book | last=Darwin | first=Charles R. | author-link =Charles Darwin| year=1839 | title=Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's Ships Adventure and Beagle between the years 1826 and 1836, describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagle's circumnavigation of the globe. Journal and remarks. 1832–1836. | title-link =The Voyage of the Beagle| place =London | publisher =Henry Colburn | page=619}}

• In page 57, Darwin says "The largest gnawing animal in the world, the Hydrochærus Capybara (the water-hog), is here also common."
• See it also in [http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?itemID=F10.3&viewtype=side&pageseq=1 The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online]

The capybara and the lesser capybara both belong to the subfamily Hydrochoerinae along with the rock cavies. The living capybaras and their extinct relatives were previously classified in their own family Hydrochoeridae. Since 2002, molecular phylogenetic studies have recognized a close relationship between Hydrochoerus and Kerodon, the rock cavies, supporting placement of both genera in a subfamily of Caviidae.

Paleontological classifications previously used Hydrochoeridae for all capybaras, while using Hydrochoerinae for the living genus and its closest fossil relatives, such as Neochoerus, but more recently have adopted the classification of Hydrochoerinae within Caviidae.{{cite journal|last1=Cerdeño |first1=E. |last2=Pérez |first2=M.E. |last3=Deschamps |first3=C.M. |last4=Contreras |first4=V.H. |year=2019 |title=A new capybara from the late Miocene of San Juan Province, Argentina, and its phylogenetic implications |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=199–212 |doi=10.4202/app.00544.2018|doi-access=free |hdl=11336/117299 |hdl-access=free }} The taxonomy of fossil hydrochoerines is also in a state of flux. In recent years, the diversity of fossil hydrochoerines has been substantially reduced. This is largely due to the recognition that capybara molar teeth show strong variation in shape over the life of an individual. In one instance, material once referred to four genera and seven species on the basis of differences in molar shape is now thought to represent differently aged individuals of a single species, Cardiatherium paranense.

Among fossil species, the name "capybara" can refer to the many species of Hydrochoerinae that are more closely related to the modern Hydrochoerus than to the "cardiomyine" rodents like Cardiomys. The fossil genera Cardiatherium, Phugatherium, Hydrochoeropsis, and Neochoerus are all capybaras under that concept.

{{multiple image

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The capybara has a heavy, barrel-shaped body and short head, with reddish-brown fur on the upper part of its body that turns yellowish-brown underneath. Its sweat glands can be found in the surface of the hairy portions of its skin, an unusual trait among rodents. The animal lacks down hair, and its guard hair differs little from over hair.{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/10-delightful-facts-about-capybaras.html|title=The Cabybara – 10 Facts About the World's Largest Rodent|website=WorldAtlas|date=26 July 2019|language=en|access-date=2020-03-18}}

Adult capybaras grow to {{convert|106|to|134|cm|ft|abbr=on}} in length, stand {{convert|50|to|62|cm|in|abbr=on}} tall at the withers, and typically weigh {{convert|35|to|66|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, with an average in the Venezuelan llanos of {{convert|48.9|kg|lb|abbr=on}}.[http://www.arkive.org/capybara/hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris/#text=Facts Capybara] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120103075238/http://www.arkive.org/capybara/hydrochoerus-hydrochaeris/#text=Facts#text=Facts |date=2012-01-03 }}, Arkive Females are slightly heavier than males. The top recorded weights are {{convert|91|kg|lb|abbr=on}} for a wild female from Brazil and {{convert|73.5|kg|lb|abbr=on}} for a wild male from Uruguay. Also, an 81 kg individual was reported in São Paulo in 2001 or 2002.{{cite journal |last1=Ferraz |first1=Katia Maria Paschoaletto Micchi de Barros |last2=Bonach |first2=Kelly |last3=Verdade |first3=Luciano Martins |title=Relationship between body mass and body length in capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) |journal=Biota Neotropica |date=2005 |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=197–200 |doi=10.1590/S1676-06032005000100020 |doi-access=free }} The dental formula is {{DentalFormula|upper=1.0.1.3|lower=1.0.1.3}}. Capybaras have slightly webbed feet and vestigial tails. Their hind legs are slightly longer than their forelegs; they have three toes on their rear feet and four toes on their front feet.{{cite web|url=http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/rodent/Capybaraprintout.shtml |title=Capybara Printout |publisher=Enchantedlearning.com |access-date=2013-05-27}} Their muzzles are blunt, with nostrils, and the eyes and ears are near the top of their heads.

Its karyotype has 2n = 66 and FN = 102, meaning it has 66 chromosomes with a total of 102 arms.

File:Cattle tyrant (Machetornis rixosa) on Capybara.jpg on a capybara]]

Capybaras are semiaquatic mammals found throughout all countries of South America except Chile. They live in densely forested areas near bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, swamps, ponds, and marshes, as well as flooded savannah and along rivers in the tropical rainforest. They are superb swimmers and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes at a time. Capybara have flourished in cattle ranches. They roam in home ranges averaging {{convert|10|ha|acre|abbr=off}} in high-density populations.

Many escapees from captivity can also be found in similar watery habitats around the world. Sightings are fairly common in Florida, although a breeding population has not yet been confirmed.{{cite web|url=http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/mammals/capybara/|title=Nonnatives – Capybara|website=myfwc.com|access-date=2013-08-30|archive-date=2014-04-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140406221051/http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/mammals/capybara/}} In 2011, one specimen was spotted on the Central Coast of California.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0818-capybara-20110818,0,104462.story|title=A gnawing question answered: It's a capybara roaming Paso Robles|last=Mather|first=Kate|date=18 August 2011|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=10 January 2012}} These escaped populations occur in areas where prehistoric capybaras inhabited; late Pleistocene capybaras inhabited Florida{{Cite journal|url=https://bioone.org/journals/proceedings-of-the-academy-of-natural-sciences-of-philadelphia/volume-167/issue-1/053.167.0105/A-Late-Pleistocene-capybara-Rodentia-Caviidae-Hydrochoerinae-from-near-Houston/10.1635/053.167.0105.short|doi=10.1635/053.167.0105|title=A Late Pleistocene capybara (Rodentia, Caviidae, Hydrochoerinae) from near Houston, Texas, USA, with a brief review of North American fossil capybaras|year=2020|last1=Baskin|first1=Jon|last2=Gervais|first2=P. Darrow|last3=Gervais|first3=Camille J.|journal=Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia|volume=167|page=57|s2cid=216241471}} and Hydrochoerus hesperotiganites in California and Hydrochoerus gaylordi in Grenada, and feral capybaras in North America may actually fill the ecological niche of the Pleistocene species.Erick J. Lundgren, Daniel Ramp, John Rowan, Owen Middleton, Simon D. Schowanek, Oscar Sanisidro, Scott P. Carroll, Matt Davis, Christopher J. Sandom, Jens-Christian Svenning, Arian D. Wallach, James A. Estes, 2020, [https://www.pnas.org/content/117/14/7871 Introduced herbivores restore Late Pleistocene ecological functions], PNAS, 117 (14), pp.7871-7878, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

File:Capybara Eating Hay 11 11 2018.jpg, Boston, Massachusetts]]

Capybaras are herbivores, grazing mainly on grasses and aquatic plants, as well as fruit and tree bark. They are very selective feeders and feed on the leaves of one species and disregard other species surrounding it. They eat a greater variety of plants during the dry season, as fewer plants are available. While they eat grass during the wet season, they have to switch to more abundant reeds during the dry season. Plants that capybaras eat during the summer lose their nutritional value in the winter, so they are not consumed at that time. The capybara's jaw hinge is not perpendicular, so they chew food by grinding back-and-forth rather than side-to-side. Capybaras are autocoprophagous, meaning they eat their own feces as a source of bacterial gut flora, to help digest the cellulose in the grass that forms their normal diet, and to extract the maximum protein and vitamins from their food. They also regurgitate food to masticate again, similar to cud-chewing by cattle.{{cite web |title=Meet Taronga's Capybaras |url=https://taronga.org.au/sydney-zoo/must-see/capybaras |website=Taronga Zoo |access-date=29 December 2021 |ref=taronga-zoo}} Like other rodents, a capybara's front teeth grow continually to compensate for the constant wear from eating grasses; their cheek teeth also grow continuously.

Like its relative the guinea pig, the capybara does not have the capacity to synthesize vitamin C, and capybaras not supplemented with vitamin C in captivity have been reported to develop gum disease as a sign of scurvy.

The maximum lifespan of the capybara is 8 to 10 years, but in the wild capybaras usually do not live longer than four years because of predation from South American big cats such as jaguars and cougars and from non-mammalian predators such as harpy eagles, caimans, green anacondas and piranhas.

File:Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) alpha male.JPG

Capybaras are known to be gregarious. While they sometimes live solitarily, they are more commonly found in groups of around 10–20 individuals, with two to four adult males, four to seven adult females, and the remainder juveniles. Capybara groups can consist of as many as 50 or 100 individuals during the dry season when the animals gather around available water sources. Males establish social bonds, dominance, or general group consensus. They can make dog-like barks when threatened or when females are herding young.

Capybaras have two types of scent glands: a morrillo, located on the snout, and anal glands. Both sexes have these glands, but males have much larger morrillos and use their anal glands more frequently. The anal glands of males are also lined with detachable hairs. A crystalline form of scent secretion is coated on these hairs and is released when in contact with objects such as plants. These hairs have a longer-lasting scent mark and are tasted by other capybaras. Capybaras scent-mark by rubbing their morrillos on objects, or by walking over scrub and marking it with their anal glands. Capybaras can spread their scent farther by urinating; however, females usually mark without urinating and scent-mark less frequently than males overall. Females mark more often during the wet season when they are in estrus. In addition to objects, males also scent-mark females.

File:Young capybaras.jpg

When in estrus, the female's scent changes subtly and nearby males begin pursuit.{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/beheco/4.2.114|title= Aggression, dominance, and mating success among capybara males (Hydrochaeris hypdrochaeris)|year=1993|last1=Herrera|first1=Emilio A.|last2=MacDonald|first2=David W.|journal=Behavioral Ecology|volume=4|issue=2|page=114}} In addition, a female alerts males she is in estrus by whistling through her nose. During mating, the female has the advantage and mating choice. Capybaras mate only in water, and if a female does not want to mate with a certain male, she either submerges or leaves the water. Dominant males are highly protective of the females, but they usually cannot prevent some of the subordinates from copulating. The larger the group, the harder it is for the male to watch all the females. Dominant males secure significantly more matings than each subordinate, but subordinate males, as a class, are responsible for more matings than each dominant male. The lifespan of the capybara's sperm is longer than that of other rodents. Capybara gestation is 130–150 days, and produces a litter of four young on average, but may produce between one and eight in a single litter. Birth is on land and the female rejoins the group within a few hours of delivering the newborn capybaras, which join the group as soon as they are mobile. Within a week, the young can eat grass, but continue to suckle—from any female in the group—until weaned around 16 weeks. The young form a group within the main group. Alloparenting has been observed in this species. Breeding peaks between April and May in Venezuela and between October and November in Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Though quite agile on land, capybaras are equally at home in the water. They are excellent swimmers, and can remain completely submerged for up to five minutes, an ability they use to evade predators. Capybaras can sleep in water, keeping only their noses out. As temperatures increase during the day, they wallow in water and then graze during the late afternoon and early evening. They also spend time wallowing in mud. They rest around midnight and then continue to graze before dawn.

Capybaras communicate using barks, chirps, whistles, huffs, and purrs.{{cite web | url=https://zoo.sandiegozoo.org/animals/capybara | title=Capybara }}

File:Capybara Ueno Zoo 2009.ogv

Capybaras are not considered a threatened species; their population is stable throughout most of their South American range, though in some areas hunting has reduced their numbers. Capybaras are hunted for their meat and pelts in some areas, and otherwise killed by humans who see their grazing as competition for livestock. In some areas, they are farmed, which has the effect of ensuring the wetland habitats are protected. Their survival is aided by their ability to breed rapidly.

Capybaras have adapted well to urbanization in South America. They can be found in many areas in zoos and parks, and may live for 12 years in captivity, more than double their wild lifespan. Capybaras are docile and usually allow humans to pet and hand-feed them, but physical contact is normally discouraged, as their ticks can be vectors to Rocky Mountain spotted fever.{{cite web|url=http://drauziovarella.com.br/audios-videos/estacao-medicina/febre-maculosa/ |title=Febre maculosa: "Os médicos no Brasil não conhecem a doença|date=12 April 2011|trans-title= Rocky Mountain spotted fever: Brazilian doctors unaware of the disease |language=pt |publisher=drauziovarella.com.br |access-date=2015-08-13}} The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria asked Drusillas Park in Alfriston, Sussex, England, to keep the studbook for capybaras, to monitor captive populations in Europe. The studbook includes information about all births, deaths and movements of capybaras, as well as how they are related.{{cite web|url=http://www.drusillas.co.uk/conservation-1 |title=Conservation at Drusillas Park |publisher=Drusillas.co.uk |access-date=2013-05-27}}

Capybaras are farmed for meat and skins in South America. The meat is considered unsuitable to eat in some areas, while in other areas it is considered an important source of protein. In parts of South America, especially in Venezuela, capybara meat is popular during Lent and Holy Week as the Catholic Church (according to a legend) previously issued special dispensation to allow it to be eaten while other meats are generally forbidden.{{Cite news |last=Romero |first=Simon |date=2007-03-21 |title=In Venezuela, Rodents Can Be a Delicacy |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/world/americas/21rodent.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131014211839/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/21/world/americas/21rodent.html?_r=0 |archive-date=14 Oct 2013 |access-date=2021-04-27 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |quote=Legend has it that eating capybara, known here as chigüire (pronounced chee-GWEE-reh), got a boost in the 18th century when the local clergy asked the Vatican to give capybara the status of fish. (...) It remains more popular in Venezuela’s rural interior than in the capital.}} There is widespread perception in Venezuela that consumption of capybaras is exclusive to rural people.

In August 2021, Argentine and international media reported that capybaras had been disturbing residents of Nordelta, an affluent gated community north of Buenos Aires built atop the local capybara's preexisting wetland habitat. This inspired social media users to jokingly adopt the capybara as a symbol of class struggle and communism.{{cite web|title=Attack of the giant rodents or class war? Argentina's rich riled by new neighbors|newspaper=The Guardian |date=22 August 2021 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/22/argentina-capybaras-giant-rodents-gated-community |last=Goñi |first=Uki}} Brazilian Lyme-like borreliosis likely involves capybaras as reservoirs and Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus ticks as vectors.{{cite journal |last1=Basile |first1=Roberta Carvalho |last2=Yoshinari |first2=Natalino Hajime |last3=Mantovani |first3=Elenice |last4=Bonoldi |first4=Virgínia Nazário |last5=Macoris |first5=Delphim da Graça |last6=Queiroz-Neto |first6=Antonio de |title=Brazilian borreliosis with special emphasis on humans and horses |journal=Brazilian Journal of Microbiology |date=4 October 2016 |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=167–172 |doi=10.1016/j.bjm.2016.09.005 |pmid=27769883 |pmc=5220628 }}

Izu Shaboten Zoo and other zoos in Japan have prepared hot spring baths for capybaras.{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-olympics-2020-capybara-idCAKBN1ZY0FY|title=Olympics and Year of the Rat give starring role to Japan's capybaras|website=Reuters|first=Sakura|last=Murakami|date=4 February 2020|accessdate=23 October 2021}} Video clips of the bathing capybaras have gained millions of views. The capybaras have influenced an anime character named Kapibara-san, and a series of merchandise such as plush toys.{{cite web|url=https://qz.com/986398/how-the-capybara-the-worlds-largest-rodent-became-a-superstar-in-japan/|title=How the world's largest rodent became a superstar in Japan|website=Quartz|first=Isabella|last=Steger|date=19 May 2017|accessdate=23 October 2021}}

A Capybara café opened in St. Augustine, Florida in 2024 which allows visitors to interact with and give head scratches to the rodents.{{cite news|title=Giant rodents cuddle with visitors at the Capybara Cafe in Florida|url=https://apnews.com/article/florida-capybara-cafe-st-augustine-54ce3807f084e9de61f72a79c6633e10|newspaper=Associated Press News|date=April 12, 2025}}

Capybaras have long been a figure in meme culture,{{cite news |last1=Diaz |first1=Ana |title=Capybaras are taking over TikTok and we’re better for it |url=https://www.polygon.com/23620358/capybara-tiktok-meme-audio-trend |access-date=28 February 2025 |work=Polygon |date=March 2, 2023}} particularly in the 2020s.{{cite news |last1=Mouriquand |first1=David |title=Why are capybaras systematically taking over social media? |url=https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/04/12/why-are-capybaras-systematically-taking-over-social-media |access-date=24 February 2025 |work=Euro News |date=December 4, 2023}} In 2022, Peronists in Argentina presented them as figures of class struggle after the disturbances in Nordelta. Common meme formats pair capybaras with the song "After Party" by Don Toliver.{{Cite web |last=Lopez |first=Sophia |date=2022-08-01 |title=Capybaras are taking over the internet |url=https://thegauntlet.ca/2022/08/01/capybaras-are-taking-over-the-internet/ |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=The Gauntlet |language=en-US}}

{{Portal|Mammals|South America}}

• Josephoartigasia monesi, an extinct species identified as the largest known rodent ever
• Kurloff cell, a type of cell found in capybaras and guinea pigs
• Capybara Walking, a historical animal locomotion film by Eadweard Muybridge

{{notelist}}

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{{cite journal |last1=Macdonald |first1=D. W. |last2=Krantz |first2=K. |last3=Aplin |first3=R. T. |title=Behavioral anatomical and chemical aspects of scent marking among Capybaras (Hydrochaeris hypdrochaeris) (Rodentia: Caviomorpha) |journal=Journal of Zoology |date=March 1984 |volume=202 |issue=3 |pages=341–360 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1984.tb05087.x }}

{{cite journal |last1=Forero-Montaña |first1=Jimena |last2=Betancur |first2=Julio |last3=Cavelier |first3=Jaime |title=Dieta del capibara Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris (Rodentia: Hydrochaeridae) en Caño Limón, Arauca, Colombia |trans-title=Distribution and abundance of Caiman crocodilus in the Caño Negro National Wild Life Refuge, Costa Rica |language=es |journal=Revista de Biología Tropical |date=June 2003 |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=571–578 |url=https://www.scielo.sa.cr/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0034-77442003000200029 |pmid=15162749 }}Ellsworth, Brian (24 March 2005). [http://www.nysun.com/article/11063 "In Days Before Easter, Venezuelans Tuck Into Rodent-Related Delicacy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080705215536/http://www.nysun.com/article/11063 |date=5 July 2008 }}. New York Sun.

Thompson, Andy (18 January 2008) [https://archive.today/20130204101346/http://www2.timesdispatch.com/lifestyles/2008/jan/18/-rtd_2008_01_18_0043-ar-147752/ Trip to South America gives new meaning to outdoors life]. Richmond Times.

{{cite journal |last1=Rowe |first1=Diane L. |last2=Honeycutt |first2=Rodney L. |title=Phylogenetic Relationships, Ecological Correlates, and Molecular Evolution Within the Cavioidea (Mammalia, Rodentia) |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |date=March 2002 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=263–277 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a004080 |pmid=11861886 |doi-access=free }}

{{cite journal |last1=Vucetich |first1=María G. |last2=Deschamps |first2=Cecilia M. |last3=Olivares |first3=Itatí |last4=Dozo |first4=María T. |title=Capybaras, size, shape, and time: A model kit |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=50 |issue=2 |year=2005 |pages=259–272 |url=https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app50-259.html }}

{{cite journal |last1=Deschamps |first1=Cecilia M. |last2=Olivares |first2=Itatí |last3=Vieytes |first3=Emma Carolina |last4=Vucetich |first4=María Guiomar |title=Ontogeny and diversity of the oldest capybaras (Rodentia: Hydrochoeridae; late Miocene of Argentina) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |date=12 September 2007 |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=683–692 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[683:oadoto]2.0.co;2 |jstor=30126368 |s2cid=86217854 }}

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{{Commons category|Hydrochoeris hydrochaeris|Hydrochoeris_hydrochaeris}}

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• {{cite web|title=Companionable Capybaras (18 Photos)|author=Alan Taylor|date=29 November 2018|website=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2018/11/photos-companionable-capybaras/576991/}}
• [https://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Hydrochoerus_hydrochaeris.html Animal Diversity Web Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris]
• [https://capybarafacts.com Capybara information]

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